home decor, Projects, shopping

A Tale of Four Coffee Tables

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This is a tale of how I ended up owning four coffee tables at one time…which is coincidentally also a tale of three very tolerant roommates.

Those of you who have known me for a while may recall when I refinished my first coffee table for our living room. I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. But I haven’t been in love with it lately. It’s not that I don’t like the table, it’s just that it’s to heavy for this space. We have a pretty large sectional in our living room, and the upper drawer gives it a heftiness that makes this space feel a little crowded. That said, the height and general dimensions have worked well.

I posted a few months ago about my obsession with Hollywood Regency marble coffee tables, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I am still head over heals for that marble and brass combo. In fact, my parents got rid of their glass and brass coffee table and gave it to me to sell at a yard sale…except it didn’t sell. So I have been dragging my feet trying to sell it through other means because part of me hoped that I could use that gorgeous brass base if I found the perfect marble top for it. But alas, I have not. And I’m not convinced that an oval is the right shape for this space anyway.

If you read that marble table post, you may also remember that I did actually purchase a marble coffee table, only to get it home and realize…nope. Way too small. Proportion and I don’t totally understand each other yet, but through this experience we are definitely getting to know each other better. So that coffee table base recently got a fresh coat of ASCP French Linen with gilded gold accents. She’s now for sale. If you’re interested, drop me a line.

So the fourth coffee table? Well, in November I watched an episode of Sabrina Soto’s High Low Project in which she used a mid-century travertine and brass coffee table in her high version, and a brass and glass with a white back coffee table in her low version, which got me thinking, maybe I don’t really need marble, maybe I just need a material that reflects light and varies the textures in the room. I knew glass just wouldn’t work for us, but maybe lacquered wood would? So I started searching for brass bases that I could put a lacquered table top on.

Then, around black Friday Gilt.com had a sale where everything was 50% (max $100 discount). That’s when I saw this coffee table from Safavieh. This was the kind of table I had actually been looking for when I bought my metallic side table. I’m not going for such a rustic vibe, but the proportions were perfect, and I liked the modern shape. With the sale it was about $120, and shipping was only about $8. Then it occurred to me: if this table was reasonably priced and had good bones, I could probably work a little magic and transform it into the brass and lacquered look I’m going for. So I bought it. It was scheduled to come in January, which was awesome at the time because I had like a million things to do before Christmas and I needed to move a bunch of existing projects out of our house so I could easily wait to deal with this coffee table.

via Amazon.com

Then one night in December I got home from class around 11:00 p.m. and found this leaning against a wall in our entry way. Whoops.

Normally I am pumped when things arrive early, but I was a little less than excited about this one. It’s still sitting in its box until I can figure out what to do with the three other tables. I’m thinking about gold-leafing or spray painting the base. I haven’t decided if I want to paint the top, stain it darker, or leave it as is yet.

So that is how I ended up with four coffee tables. In summary, if you are looking for a coffee table, I might have one for you. Call me maybe?

Linked to: Miss Mustard Seed

Projects

Deciding Which Project to Tackle Next

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Recently a few people have asked me how I decide which projects I take on when, so I thought I’d give you a little insight into my process. Here are a few rules to live by when planning which projects to tackle around the house. Rule #1: As much as possible, finish a project before you acquire a new one. I am a total furniture hoarder. I’m really trying to be better about it, but in the past I’ve been really bad about picking up stuff on Craigslist because it’s free, or accepting things from friends I don’t really need, or holding on to pieces because I think I can sell them. I do not suggest being like this, because it makes it a heck of a lot harder to get anything done. It’s kind of like ordering a book on Amazon.com every time you read a good review, but […]

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furniture, Projects

Blue Chevron Child’s Chair

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If you didn’t see it via facebook already, I’ve added a new item to my shop: this vintage blue and white chevron child’s chair. It’s painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Provence and Original White, lightly distressed, and sealed with wax. I actually made a bunch of the fabric garlands you see in the photo and will be putting them in my Etsy shop soon. The framed alphabet print is also for sale. Have a great weekend! Linked to: Miss Mustard Seed, Redoux, My Repurposed Life, Primitive and Proper

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paint, Projects

Right in Time for Basketball Season

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Every so often the boy sends me some wall art he’s found online, and it generally involves either Indiana University (his Alma mater), or the American flag. And I normally respond with something to the effect of, “Oh, I could make that.” Of course, I never really get around to it. But this, my friends, is the story of a time that I finally did. Let’s call it my own version of Young House Love’s “Dude, Get On That Already” initiative. This particular request involved making a pretty simple distressed wood sign that said “HOOSIERS” on it. Embarrassingly Fortunately, I already had everything I needed. For the sign, I used scrap wood from the shelf for my dresser-turned-TV-stand. I sanded it with some 220 grit sandpaper, especially around the edges, and then sprayed a light layer of primer over it in my backyard. This step was probably unnecessary. Oh well. […]

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furniture, paint, Projects

Beautiful Blue Chairs

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Happy Saturday everyone! When I picked up this pair of chairs, the finish was poor and they had cracked cane seats. I really liked the scale of them and how skinny the spindles were, so I knew they were a good candidate for a re-do. I painted them in Benjamin Moor Advance Satin Marine blue, applied some upholstery webbing over the cane just for extra support, and padded them with batting. Then I used bold fabric from Premier Prints over the batting, and trimmed it out with white trim tape. This pretty pair of chairs is now available in my shop. I can picture them at a little cafe table in the corner of an apartment. Have a great weekend! Linked: Miss Mustard Seed, My Repurposed Life, Primitive & Proper, Redoux, Doodles & Stitches

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furniture, painting, Projects

Hinged-Top Waterfall Dresser

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When I see a beautiful piece of unpainted furniture, I am often torn between wanting to keep the original wood, and wanting to paint it. Sometimes I make my decision based on the style of furniture. For example, something that screams 1970s is the worst of ways might look fresh and modern with a clean, glossy coat of paint. Other times, I find pieces that are so hopelessly beat up that only people who enjoy cruel and unusual punishment would attempt to refinish the wood. That’s what happened when I stumbled upon this waterfall dresser on craigslist. It needed some serious help. Veneer was missing all over the place, the top had something crusted onto it, and a piece of the frame was missing between the top drawer and top of the dresser. It was actually that missing piece that sold me. Seeing that 2 inch gap between the uppermost […]

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furniture, Lucketts Spring Market, painting, Projects

Lucketts Favorites: Mid-century Modern Herringbone Tables

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Thank you SO much to Becky from Preparing for Peanut for sending me this picture she snapped during the market! Shortly after I found out I would be selling furniture at Lucketts, I picked up these mid-century modern tables on craigslist. The finish on both tables was in really bad shape, and had alligatored in a lot of places. The tops both had water rings on them.  They were very solid and had potential, so I was excited about the acquisition. To take off the bad finish, I sanded until my hands were about to fall off. I even bought a Dremel Multi-Max with the detail sander attachment to help sand the places where I was struggling and make the process go faster.  Once the finish was gone, I applied a coat of wood conditioner and then a coat of Minwax Antique Walnut stain. I really didn’t like the color […]

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chairs, furniture, Lucketts Spring Market, painting, Projects

Lucketts Favorites: Blue Rocking Chair

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When I was getting ready for Lucketts, a lot of my friends asked me which pieces were my favorite projects. So, I thought I’d do a few posts about my favorites. I bought this rocking chair at the last minute, about a week before the market. It had a cane back and cane bottom. The cane bottom looked new, but the back looked terrible. I haven’t yet learned how to weave cane furniture, so I decided to reupholster this chair. And I was in such a rush to finish projects that I forgot to take a before picture. Bummer. Using spray primer, I primed it and painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence. I mostly primed it because I didn’t know what color I wanted to paint it, but I’m glad I did because I didn’t want any of the black paint to show through anyway. After the […]

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furniture, Projects

Coral and Gold Dipped Table

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I have been crazy busy attempting to finish all my projects for the Lucketts market next weekend. So, I don’t have time to type out a full tutorial but I wanted to share one of my latest finished pieces! This is a vintage Henredon end table that I painted with Benjamin Moore Advance satin in Tuscon Coral. I got the “dipped” effect by spray painting the ends of the legs with gold paint first, and then using painters tape to create the crisp line between the coral and gold. This sassy little table will be available next week at the market, along with the brass duck and a bunch of telephone insulators! Linked: Miss Mustard Seed, Chic on a Shoestring, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Redoux, My Repurposed Life, Making Lemonade, Domestically Speaking, Somewhat Simple, Savvy Southern Style, 36th Avenue, The Shabby Nest,    

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Lucketts Spring Market, painting, Projects

Union Jack Stool

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Last week I mentioned how I normally turn my nose up at trends, and this week I’m going to tell you about one that I’ve totally embraced. I know, I’m such an enigma. People are painting Union Jacks on everything. A year ago a columnist on Design*Sponge even proclaimed that Union Jack is the new black. I couldn’t help but jump on the train. Not only am I pretty darn British in heritage, the Union Jack is really cool. It’s a bold, graphic, iconic pattern with near symmetry to boot. When painted on unexpected surfaces, it adds a lot of graphic character to a room. The only thing I don’t quite understand about this trend is that it’s not really the easiest thing to do. I mean yeah, it’s straightforward, but I think free-handing something less precise would be a lot easier. It takes a long time to paint the […]

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