Distressed Accent Table

Before Image

I was looking on craigslist for a small table to refinish and put in the bathroom at work to spruce things up a bit. I found this one for $20 but got it for $10. It was apparently part of the Eddie Bauer Home Collection. Unfortunately it had a glass shelf which I was afraid would be a problem for work as it may be seen as a liability (I'm a therapist). I decided I could always not use the glass shelf and fill in the holes.

Since it was for work I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I just recycled supplies left over from other projects. Here's where I found my inspiration:

http://frenchcottageinteriors.com/furniture/tables/ and it is the piece titled, "Rustic Painted End Table".

The stand was all white with some paint chipping off. I used paint stripper and took off the top paint to find wood (I think it was a wood veneer on top of fake wood, but it was in excellent condition). I left some white paint on the sides of the top for a more distressed look. I used a "jaco bean" wood stain color on the top of the stand and the side edge and applied layer after layer with a rag until I reached my desired look. Actually at first I was upset because the stain started to interact weirdly with the wood not leaving an even finish, but then I liked it because it looked more old and worn so I kept applying more finish.

Then I used the same "laughing eyes" blue from my art center and same technique (watered down acrylic paint and a rag to create the antique finish look). I sanded between coats on everything and at the beginning and then sanded down parts to expose the wood and white paint below for a continued distressed look.

In the end I decided I liked the glass shelf so I put it back on. Then I took an old replica glass knob that I have had for a while from another project, drilled a hole and put it on the front of the stand. It looks like a drawer but it's just decoration. I sealed the entire project twice with a clear satin finish. I liked it so much and wanted to keep the glass shelf that I decided to keep the stand. I showed my sister on Facetime and she asked to keep it so that is where this piece will find it's new home. This was a fun project that took about a total of 6 hours over 3 days to complete and cost $10 due to using all recycled materials.

Alas, my search continues for the right end table/stand for the work bathroom. Stay tuned...

Arts and Craft Center Finally Finished!

I worked for about 4 hours a day over a 5 day period but managed to get my art center completed. This was the largest piece of furniture I've worked on and as most things it had it's learning challenges. I worked on both pieces separately and never put them together until it was finished. This made it kind of dicey on how it would all come together. I decided to use the same color choice on both pieces which after finishing the second coat all I saw was smurfs or "boy, people are going to thing I'm having a baby boy". The blue grey looked a little more blue when everything was that color. The online instructions from different sources on how to create a distressed look tended to be very short and not completely clear directives, therefore there ended up being a lot of experimentation going on. I ended up sanding down corners and wear spots and then used acrylic craft paint raw sienna with a drop of black really watered down and brushed it on each piece and quickly wiped off with a white rag to the desired color/effect. I had no idea what I was doing at first and put a light coat on then wiped off almost everything I had put on. By the time I was more daring I was midway through the second furniture piece and had to pretty much go back over the entire first piece and part of the second. I loved the effect of the acrylic wash when it was finished! It ended up really dulling the blue paint and making the furniture look older (duh...that was it's purpose). The acrylic paint (hint: always wipe with the grain) fell into the crevices and scuff marks darkening them. Almost of a tea stain effect. I liked the look of using flat paint but when it came to the finishing coat of polyurethane I discovered that there is no flat version so I had to use a clear satin which turned out okay, but did make it slightly shiny.

Oh, my other advise when doing a project similar to this...stay away from detailed pieces when your first starting out. The dresser was no problem and I would redo 100 of them; the hutch however was a bear. It was extremely detailed and took a lot of time and patience.

Overall the piece was a success! I love the style, color and hardware! It is pretty full to capacity already and joyfully being used.