Coffee! Table!

I bought my first refinishing project last weekend in the form of this coffee table. I scored it for $15 at a local flea market, but they also threw in a saw my husband found and a little antique milk bottle I just had to have for my windowsill glass collection. Steal!

 

I am going to be stripping it in manageable sections in my spare time. Because I have so much of it. We have been looking to replace our exhausted Ikea coffee table for a long time, but could never seem to find one in the right size and shape. This one is perfect. It has a great pattern on the top which I hope to preserve. We shall see. More updates as I fumble through this project.

I have wanted to learn how to refinish old furniture for some time. I've painted my fair share of pieces, but have never stripped something down and started from scratch. My husband got so excited, he started emailing me all kinds of refinishing projects from around the web. His favorite was the paint layering technique featured in this post from Sweet Pickins:

Photos courtesy of Sweet Pickins

I'm not sure if I have the skills to master something like this yet, but her instructions make it sound very doable...even for a novice like me. We have a really cool blue bookshelf in the corner of our living room, so we were even thinking of using that shade under the black in place of red.

Erika over at Live, Laugh, Love also has a great post detailing her process of turning a Craigslist find into a beautiful coffee table for her living room. I will probably be referring to it often throughout this journey.

Photo courtesy of Live, Laugh, Love

And of course I've been consulting my gal Martha Stewart's site looking for advice and ideas. Better After is also a great source of inspiration. Some of the projects she features makes me go, "Oh yeah, I can TOTALLY tile my entire kitchen!"  I definitely need to take a few deep breathes and come back to reality after spending time on her blog. Otherwise we could end up with a construction zone in the living room and nary an idea of how to put it back together.

During the prepping process, I'll continue perusing the web for more finishing ideas. Here are a few I really like:

Photo: Distressed designs by Dee

Photo: Burlap and Lace

Essex Dresser by Pottery Barn

Photo: Vermont Woods Studio

Photo: Woodland Creek Furniture

I really like the look of a crisp white base with a dark, distressed wood top. But I think black will probably win out in the end because our living room calls for it. Our current house has wood floors, so we are slowly eliminating/refinishing our old wood furniture because it easily becomes too 'woody' in our living room with all the contrasting tones. Plus, we are color people.

I am thinking a variation of these using a distressed black paint finish for the body, then a dark stain on the top to showcase the cool pattern and give it an edge.  And if all else fails...we repaint! Again.

More to come!