Sweet Oval Coffee Table

Nothing much to say about this little gal...except the fact that she REALLY needed a makeover.



Yikes! Before I started blogging and re-vamping furniture...I didn't know that those ugly leather table tops could be painted...did you? Well, now you know! Paint them just like you do wood!

Per usual, a little white paint, distressing and glaze does wonders!





That's all I have for you today! Hope your Monday is less hectic than mine!

Allison

Linking to:










iheartnaptime.net

How to Get The Look of Aged Wood: Part 2

Thanks for hanging in there with me while I (slowly) put this tutorial together. It's been so interesting to see how the vinegar and steel wool mixture reacts to different types of wood. The first table, here, took on a grayish tone...but the one I've worked on for this tutorial has been a warm brownish.

If you'd like to see the first part of the tutorial, go here.

Next, I got a small can of Minwax stain in "Pickled Oak".


Pickling and liming are one in the same...I had to google both when I first heard of this technique. It's similar to a white wash, but oil based.


I applied it twice, wiping it off after about 10 minutes each time.

After I applied it the first time

Second time...you can see it's not soaking in immediately


Next, I mixed up a white wash solution. Nothing fancy from me.... I don't measure it out, I just put some water on a paper plate, dip a stir stick in white paint, and mix it around.


And because paper plates aren't the best in containing liquid, I spilled some on the garage floor...learn from me!


Here is the table during it's one and only coat of white wash...


I let her sit like that for about 10 minutes, wiped it off, and she was done. I'm not sure how vinegar, steel wool, pickling stain and white wash work together to create this look, but I'm loving it.




I distressed and heavily glazed the apron and legs. A dog had gotten to this table before I did, so I had no choice but to make this table dirtied up!




So what do you think? Will you be trying this technique? Which look do you like better...the vinegar and steel wool only or the whole shebang?

Please ask if you have questions...I'm not a great writer, so I imagine some peeps are confused!

~Allison

How to Quickly Get the Look of Aged Wood: Part 1 of 2

So last week, I shared this weathered, gray dining table.



I decided that I'd share how I achieved this finish if people were interested...and they were, so here is part 1 of 2. I'm doing this in 2 parts because there are actually 2 different looks that can be achieved...and different people might appreciate one over the other. The great part of this is that you may have all of the ingredients you need in your house already! Woot!

I found this table yesterday on the "free" section on Craig. I love that section...but you have to be quick. I may have been cursing yellow lights on the way to this curb...hoping I hadn't lost out on great finds.

The top


I knew this piece would be perfect for the tutorial because I could sand the top to bare wood quickly and easily. This finish works best on RAW WOOD. Think pallets, etc. You can still use it if it's not bare wood, but it takes longer.
Here is the sanded top


When you have your piece ready to go, you'll need the following:
apple cider vinegar
fine steel wool
a container to pour the vinegar in


Place 1 piece of steel wool into the container and pour the vinegar over the steel wool, covering it completely.


Now here's where you need patience...you need to let it sit overnight and preferrably for 24 hours. I know...us DIYers are anything but patient. But unless the chemical reaction happens, you won't get the results you want.

While waiting for my steel wool and vinegar solution, I painted the skirt and legs on this table. It still needs one more coat.

(seriously, how bad are these pictures?!)

This morning, when I checked on my vinegar, it looked nasty. Exactly what I wanted!


I put on my rubber gloves and got to work. I've done this method a few times now and found it works best to actually apply the solution with the steel wool.


Once it's covered, you wait again...for it to dry. Repeat this as many times as it takes to get the results you want! Here's my table now:




In this photo, you can see a piece of the wood that didn't get the treatment vs. the rest that did


Yummy, weathered and dried looking wood!




I read about this process on Pinterest. I will say that this table turned out very differently than the dining table above. But I love it. This was the first step in the process of getting that dining table. Stay tuned...in the next few days, I will do part 2 of the tutorial!

~Allison

Parties Galore!