Ever started a project that turned out to be a bit of a nightmare? Well, this was one of those! When I bought this little table, I mainly bought it for the detail. I mean, just look at the gorgeous legs on this beauty. I should have known then and there what a nightmare .. sorry .. challenge .. it would be to upcycle this beauty.
When I got it home and looked at it, I knew I wanted to strip the top back to the original wood. The paintwork on it was just not great and I wanted to restore its natural look .. I know .. silly me … what was I thinking?!!
I started with sanding the whole thing to remove any loose paint flakes. That in itself just wasn’t going to cut it. So I resorted to the paint and varnish stripper to get ALL the old paint off the top. This is one messy job guys! And super-smelly too .. but totally worth it to get that gorgeous wood grain back on the table top. Ready for some elbow grease??
This is gonna get messy! 
Back to basics 
After the first coat of Ebony wood stain – didn’t this come up a treat?
For the bottom I decided I really wanted a bright happy colour to contrast the dark wooden top. So I opted for my all time favourite colour – turquoise. It always reminds me of holidays 🙂
The Finishing touches
I just love the sheen of the wood, but felt it needed a bit more detail to break up the dark surface. Enter my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a stencil (if you’ve not heard of it – the Silhouette is brilliant for so many projects – check out this lazy Susan make-over as an example!)
For ideas on stencils and graphics, head over to The Graphics Fairy – it’s a great site with loads of designs. I added this to the top and used a light blue acrylic paint to stencil it on before sealing it with varnish.
I distressed the frame and the legs slightly to add a bit of character to the table. Last but not least I used some dark wax to add some contrast and tie the whole thing in with the dark top.
Getting the top back to bare wood was definitely a challenge, but I’m so pleased with the results! I just think it just suits the look of this piece of furniture.
One “Oh-La-La” piece of furniture ready for a new home 🙂
Oh by the way, if you want to see another table make-over, check out this blog post where I bought a £5 table for a quick transformation!
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