The Accent Table of Many Colors
I got this sweet little accent table for free from my boss who was cleaning out. As you can tell, it was in need of some serious love. I flipped it over and found a tangle of Daddy Long Legs legs and bodies under there, but I didn’t think anyone else should have to witness that.
Hold the phone you guys. I just went to go downstairs to check the name of the paint color I used and POOF. The lightbulb went out. I just need a pat on the back for getting the flashlight and going down there in the dark for you guys. That is dedication. 🙂 My super tall superhero husband changed it right after I came up. Of course.Â
OK, but back to reality and being a real adult who isn’t afraid of the monsters in the basement.
I started by sanding it down. I figured I could skip stripping it because I was too nervous to try it out and also, the finish was pretty much peeling off so heck. I got to business with my random orbital sander, and followed up with a piece of sandpaper around a piece of scrap wood to get all the rounded surfaces and corners and crevices.
Looking at that makes me want to run my hands over that baby soft sanded top!
Then I spray-primed using a can of Rustoleum primer, pretty much the only kind of priming I can commit to. (Quick sidenote about spray paint: Check your local Walmart selection before going to a hardware store. The prices at Walmart are the lowest around, although sometimes you can’t find a product if you’re looking for something ultra specific.)
I hate priming, but I do it because I know I have to *sigh drag my feet grumble grumble*.
So then I got to finishing it. I chose a color (more about that in a moment), and got to work painting. I used a regular paint brush followed by a foam roller on the flat surfaces—that helps you get a really nice finish while minimizing brush strokes. For the round legs, I found that sweeping the brush across the leg to get the paint on first worked nicely, and then I would even it out with vertical strokes.
To distribute paint onto all the surfaces of the round leg, I swept the brush across horizontally first, and finished by using vertical strokes up and down the length of the leg.
I used a can of leftover spray paint to give the interior of the drawer a little pop of bright, pizzazzy color.
Color-me-cheerful surprise drawer interior color
I don’t even know what paint color I originally used, but I painted it a color I really didn’t like. A weird muddy green. And to top it off, I attempted to add an antiquing glaze like you see in this gorgeous piece here. Let me tell you, it stunk. It was just not good. It was dark and ugly and didn’t really have the right ornateness to carry the antiquing.
I tried to love it. I really did. I kept it this way for a few months, rotating it around the house, dressing it up, ignoring it. But it was just screaming to me, “Pinterest Fail!” We couldn’t make it work.
So I redid it. But this took way less time this time. I found inspiration at this blog post at LiveLoveDIY, so I used the same color she used, Marina Isle by Behr, but I went with gold spray paint for the one little drawer pull. (I actually just noticed that I liked her redo so much that I pinned it twice!) The result is something I’m so happy with!
Happy and bright little refinished end table. Its like it rediscovered its soul.
I rotated it around for a while until it found its current home in my daughter’s room, where its presence is both functional and cheerful.
Little accent table found it’s purpose once again
As always, what’s the lesson learned? You may have to go through a few finishes for your piece, and it will definitely be frustrating, but when you find the right finish, it’s worth it. Don’t give up! 🙂
Have you had any refinishing redos? How many times have you redone the same piece to get it right?
The evolution of an accent table.
