End-Table Re-do

I know I mentioned this on facebook, but I wanted to go into more detail about how I totally re-vamped this end table, so that you might want to tackle one of these yourself.

I started with this:

It was dated, old, and needed a Cheap Chic touch. It had a hole in the drawer, which needed fixing, and just was overall a project in dire need of help. I had seen the "antiqued" finish a lot and always wanted to try it. This end table seemed like the perfect candidate because of its old-world feel.

I started by using this nice primer that doesn't require sanding first. (I did this because a - I'm lazy, and b - there were a lot of details carved into the wood that would have been incredibly hard to sand) Then, I painted the whole thing off-white. Any color can be antiqued, so the sky's the limit. The paint needs to be 100% dry before starting the antique finish.

There are a couple ways to antique a piece of furniture. The first, and probably most laborious, is to apply stain to the painted surface, and wipe it off with a rag in the opposite direction of the brush strokes. But, for this project where there were so many small pieces of wood and fluted moldings, that wasn't my best choice. Luckily, my mother-in-law had a little bottle of gel stain that looks just like a little acrylic paint bottle. We just dabbed some on a rag and rubbed it in to the paint. It was surprisingly easy and went pretty quickly.

I had picked up a beautiful teal paint at the paint store that was about 50% off because it was a mis-tint. I really wanted to use it somewhere on this table, but an end table painted entirely in this teal would be too much. So, I decided to paint the inside of the drawer this pretty teal for a surprise pop of color when you opened the drawer. I think it turned out quite well. (Especially after replacing the bottom of the drawer with brand new wood)

Once we were done with the painting and staining, I wanted to make it more formal, by trimming the edges of the marble with more antiqued wood. This created a tray effect that makes the table look expensive and polished.

I LOVE how this turned out. It is one of my best projects to date. But, I don't have a use for it, and really want someone else to enjoy it. It is for sale, and if any of my readers want to buy it, you get a $10 discount!!  Please feel free to contact me at mocklidesigns@gmail.com if you want to come take a look at it or want more pictures. I hope this inspires you to tackle that project of your own now that spring is beginning.

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