Coffee Table Makeover

Hello all! Happy Monday from me to you! I hope you’re having a fantastic morning. Are you drinking your coffee as you’re reading this? I hope so!

Summer is in full swing for me here. I’m a teacher, and even though my summer break started a few weeks back, I spent the first bit of that away from home visiting different family members. I didn’t feel like my summer break had fully begun until this last week. I don’t have any kiddos to keep me busy (that is definitely not a complaint), so my days range between mindlessly watching Netflix for an embarrassing number of hours and finding odd projects around the house to keep me busy.

This week these old tables we have in our living room became the object of choice (I swear, nothing is safe from the paintbrush in this house. Except for the walls, because, landlords). These two tables were my husband, Ethan’s from his bachelor days. Who knows how old they are or where in the world they came from. Classic newlyweds, amiright?

I painted the bases white when we first got married, and that was good for a while. But you can see how scratched and janky (I can use that word right?) they are. They weren’t looking so hot.

So obviously I had to do something about it (which if you’re reading this and you still haven’t figured out that I am about to paint this table, then I’m sorry I ruined the surprise for you).

The first thing I did was put a fresh coat of Annie Sloan Old White over both tables. I’ve written previously more details about using this paint, which you can find here.

Don’t mind this background of this picture. It’s our totally-unfinished-not-fully-furnished-guestroom/paint studio. We all have that one room we don’t want anyone to see. Except you just saw mine. Don’t judge me, please keep reading.

I wanted to go for a “farmhouse style” look, so I wanted to paint a grainsack stripe on each of the tables. I spaced a four inch wide line in the center, and a one inch wide line on either side.

I then painted in the areas I had taped off. The color is Pencil Sketch by Behr. I bought a sample jar of it at Home Depot in a flat finish and had plenty left over. The paintbrush is the 2″ Wooster Shortcut. This is the first time using this brush and I can tell you that I absolutely loved it! It’s inexpensive and easy to use.

After painting my stripes, I got around to distressing lightly the edges of my table. I also sanded down over the gray stripes so that a bit of the white would show through. I wanted to give the stripes a bit of a worn look.

After distressing, removing tape, adding a finishing wax, and making a huge mess, my tables were done!

They make the room so much brighter, which I absolutely love. I also am really digging the rustic vibe they have. The best part about this project is that I had everything on hand except for the $3 paint sample I bought. That’s what I call a thrifty project! My favorite kind! That’s all for today. Have a fabulous day, friends!