This sturdy, (but let’s be honest, pretty ugly looking!) coffee table was one of my recent treasures. Well, .. I use the word “treasures” loosely … it certainly didn’t LOOK like a treasure!
Even the guy I bought it from pretty much tried to persuade me NOT to buy it (.. “Are you serious love?.. you like THAT?”…). Poor little table! .. But it was in good condition and with a lick of paint and some creative stenciling it definitely had potential! I suppose what I’m trying to say is, don’t be put off by the ugly .. look PAST the ugly and imagine what things COULD look like 🙂 And very often it’s just a lick of paint away from a complete transformation!
Step-by-Step Guide to Coffee Table Transformation
By the way, excuse the mess in our garden (#reallifemess) – we had some building work going on at the time and our garden was pretty much our workshop! Thank goodness for the warm summer weather!
Aaaanyway, this is how the table was when I found it. I had already started sanding down the top of the table at this stage. Note to self – MUST remember to take photos before starting a project.
When tackling a painting project for furniture, there are a couple of things I would recommend. Sanding .. I know it’s booooring, but pretty important. Even with the chalk paints (you know, the ones that say you don’t need any sanding?), I give the furniture a bit of a light sand. It may not need it, but it won’t hurt! Secondly? You clean! And then you clean some more. You would be AMAZED how much grease and grime collects on furniture over the years. Give it a good clean with sugar soap before taking some white spirits and give the whole item a good rub down with that.
Looking back I didn’t have to sand the top down as I decided to use chalk paint to paint the top. But it did end up giving me a lovely smooth finish so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I wanted a complete change for this table – from the dark wood to a nice fresh modern feel so decided on a combination of grey and ivory.
The fresh ivory paint has a lovely satin finish and looks great against the grey, giving the whole table a gorgeous traditional look. It’s really starting to take shape in this photo. Because of the dark wood it took a fair few coats of the ivory paint to cover it. But .. it was so worth it!
The final result
And this is the finished result! Who would have thought? How much brighter and fresher does that look? I created the stencil with my Silhouette Cameo machine before painting it on with the same paint as the frame of the table. I think the “Home sweet Home” phrase pulls the whole look together. I’m a bit of a sucker for stencils anyway and LOVE the current trend of the farmhouse style.
Want some more ideas of what the Silhouette Cameo can do? It’s so versatile, but one of my favourites is my Ikea Lazy Susan make-over.
This one is going up for sale because I want a coffee table with some storage drawers. However, if a storage table comes along, I’ll definitely jump on it! Even it’s dark and dingy 🙂
What do you all think?
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