Black & Gold Table

Last July I found this little shiny black sewing table at a yard sale. I think all I heard about it at the time was "$5.00," and I said, "I'll take it!"

In my rush to get a great deal, I didn't look too closely. The first clue I had as to why it was only $5.00, was how heavy it was. I couldn't lift it by myself! That's when I saw that the table opened down the middle on hinges and was actually a sewing machine cabinet.

A long time ago!

After my husband lugged it to the car and inside our house, I did the investigating I should have done at the yard sale. (I now call this table my learning table, as in a what to pass by at a yard sale-table.)

I set the table aside for a while, and when I had some spare time (some what?) I went at it with a screw driver, and just look at what came out of that innocent looking table. No wonder it was so heavy!

I couldn't see any way to make the inside usable or fix the broken hinged faux drawer front, so I glued and screwed them down tight and filled in the crack on top with wood putty. I had planned on painting the table white, but the white primer changed my mind. My $5.00 table that I'd already wasted too much time on seemed to be getting uglier and uglier the more I did to it!  

At this point, I thought maybe I should just junk it (or as they do in Maryland, leave it out at the curb.)

Instead, I mixed up some black chalk paint and repainted it black.

And gold!

I think it was the gold that did me in.

 And turned this sad little sewing cabinet into one of my favorites!

 

The black chalk paint gave it a soft vintage look, and the Martha Stewart gold metallic paint from Home Depot gave it some pizazz.

This little pain in the neck $5.00 yard sale table has turned out to be one of my favorites and now resides in a place of honor in my craft room. 

Ironically, it has made the perfect little sewing table for me!

 I'm sharing my black and gold table at these fun parties! C'mon along!

Elizabeth & Co.
From My Front Porch To Yours
Stone Gable
Rooted In Thyme  
Common Ground 
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage 
Miss Mustard Seed  
Funky Junk Interiors 
Coastal Charm 
 

Waterfall Table

 Yay! I finally have a project to share with you! 

You might remember this little yard sale waterfall table I bought on a lazy summer Sunday back in July. My brother wanted me to keep the wood look, but it was in bad shape. In fact, I learned how to use wood filler for the first time to fill in some missing veneer and deep scratches on this piece.

After sanding and priming I painted the edges and bottom shelf linen white with homemade chalk paint.

For the "waterfall" part I mixed up a warm neutral beige to set it off a bit from the rest of the table.

I distressed and waxed, and the finish is as smooth as silk now. I also replaced the old knob with a new vintage glass one.

I love the cute new shabby chic look!

This little table was way easier to move around and more fun to work on than my big television console, and I'll definitely be watching for more small projects like this one to paint.


If you live in the Boise area and are interested in purchasing this table, shoot me an email from my sidebar and I'll send you the particulars.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day! 

 

I'm sharing my little table at some really fun parties! C'mon along!

 Elizabeth & Co. 
Shabby Art Boutique 
French Country Cottage 
The Charm of Home 
My Romantic Home
The Vintage Farmhouse 
Pieced Passtimes 
 

My Television Console

I'm so excited to show you what I've been working on the past week!

I snapped this photo on my phone of this big dresser I found recently at a local consignment shop. I'd been searching for one for a long time.

 My husband thought I was off my noggin' when I told him it would soon be a charming piece of furniture holding his treasured 47" flat screen TV and soundbar in our family room. 

He definitely didn't see my vision. 

So it was fun and very gratifying to watch him come around to my side as I completed each step of its transformation. 

First, I put it outside and sanded all the stain off the top with an orbital sander, being careful not to sand through the thin veneer. Then I sanded the sides by hand with sanding sponges to remove the shine. 

 I brought it inside and stained the top with one coat of Minwax dark walnut stain followed by three coats of wipe-on polyurethane.

Next, I painted the bottom with two coats of Glidden flat paint. I sanded both the poly and paint between coats for a smooth-as-silk finish on both the top and sides.

The color I used is called Linen. 

I put the knobs and handles in a cardboard box and painted them with oil rubbed bronze spray paint. 

Then I got to work distressing everything by hand. And, boy, was it a workout! 

Are you starting to see my vision? 

Next, I rubbed clear furniture wax onto the paint and buffed everything to a soft glow. 

I stained the middle drawers to match the top and finished the cabinet door that hides them, just in case we ever want to use this as a dresser in a bedroom. But for now, the drawers and door are stored away in the basement. 

In their place are some shelves I made to hold the cable box, bluray player, and a basket. Holes were drilled through the back for the cables and wires.

The television and soundbar fit just right on top, and there's tons of storage in the drawers for DVDs and all our electronic cables, chargers, and manuals. It's a great TV console.

I have a whole new respect for bloggers who tackle furniture refinishing projects like this every week. It was a TON of work! But it was so worth it. The custom vintage look fits our cottage perfectly and adds so much charm to our family room. 

Here's a look back:

  What a difference!

It feels wonderful to finally have the exact piece of furniture I've wanted for such a long time.

Thanks so much for letting me share it with you today!

I'm partying this week at these fabulous blogs

Elizabeth & Co.
From My Front Porch to Yours 
Savvy Southern Style
Our Home Away From Home 
Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence 
Mod Vintage Life  
Jennifer Rizzo 
French Country Cottage
The Charm of Home
Common Ground
Shabby Art Boutique 
Rooted in Thyme
My Romantic Home  
My Repurposed Life
Craftberry Bush 
Miss Mustard Seed 
The Shabby Nest 
The Cottage Market  
Nifty Thrifty Things 
DIY Showoff 
Between Naps on the Porch
Suburbs Mama  
Coastal Charm
Cozy Little House 
The Farmhouse Porch 

I Went Shopping

I misplace days... all the time. 

I have no idea what happened to Wednesday, but I know I had it here just a minute ago. 

Anyway, I went shopping today, Thursday, and I'd love to share with you what I bought. I've been thinking about these purchases for quite awhile (I don't spend money lightly), and I'm super excited to finally have them.

My first purchase is the Creating Your Masterpiece Ebook by Shaunna West of the Perfectly Imperfect blog.  I just might be the last person in blogdom to buy this e-book about refinishing furniture. It was on sale for $10, and after an easy download it's sitting on my laptop, just like a real book sits on a real desk top. I can open it and look through it whenever I want. But this book is even better than a regular book because it has video instruction!

Perfectly Imperfect

My second purchase is the Photography 101 Class by Shoot Fly Shoot. (You can read my previous post about Shoot fly Shoot and the class here.) After registering and paying the $69 fee, I have access to the course online whenever I feel like studying. The class is a series of videos designed to get a beginner digital SLR photographer off automatic settings and into the exciting (if intimidating) world of manual settings. 

Shoot Fly Shoot

 
I know a little bit about both these topics (refinishing furniture and photography), but I want to know a whole lot more. I'm frustrated with wasting time learning from my own mistakes. So I started slogging through the tons of written material available online, reading my new camera manual (oh, ugh!), and finally decided it was worth the investment to purchase really good educational materials that fit my learning style, which is visual and hands-on. 

Now I can set up my laptop near my work space, watch the video tutorials, and "do it" as I learn.

But since I lost yesterday, I have to wait until tomorrow to start.