Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sidetable Revamp & A Starbucks Gift Card Giveaway.....


The weather has finally started to warm up a bit here in our neck of the woods, and you know what that means...... New furniture projects of course!  Below you will find my latest project.  This table was a hand-me down from my husband's parents.  I love the bones, but not a fan of the honey finish.  I had wanted to tackle this project last fall, but the weather got too cold too quick for me.
This sidetable calls our living room home.  I love how this table offers a large table top for display, and then a segemented second shelf.  Our living room is a more casual space that we use for reading, and I really like the idea of displaying magazines  or some cool looking books on the second shelf. 
In the close-up you can see the edges have been a little worn, and the table is just screaming for a facelift.
I spent a sizable amount of time sanding the sidetable down. I started with 80 grit sandpaper, then bumped up to 100 grit, and then 150 grit. About a hour in to sanding, I realized that the top of the table was screwed into the second shelf by screws underneath.  It was a welcome suprise as I was able to take the table apart, and then sand the second shelf down all the way, as well as each of the divider pieces.

I was able to get all of the old stain off the second shelf, but a bit remains on the edge of the top table surface.  I am still undecided what my next step is going to be. 
As you can see, the legs still have a bit of stain of them too.  It it very difficult to get into all the nooks and crannies to remove the stain.  I am pretty satisfied with the my efforts so far.
Now I just need to decide what the next step is going to be.  Initially I thought I would restain it a very dark brown color to match all the other furniture in the room, but now I am thinking of painting it black since I haven't been able to remove all the former stain off the piece.  I am not sure if I am drawn to this option because it is easy or if it is because I think it will work best for the room.  Two of the major wood pieces of furniture in that room are a very dark brown stain, but the wood mirror is painted white, and most of the frames are black.

Below is a picture of a table that has been my inspiration for this project.  It is Pottery Barn's Rustic Pedestal Accent Table.  The finish on their table is an "expertly crafted of distressed espresso-stained hardwood, with mortise-and-tenon joinery for lasting stability and all sides are antique finished using a multistep process". 


Here is a close-up of the table.

As I mentioned above, this table is stained an expresso color.  I have never used stain, but if I recall right, all the previous stain must be removed for stain to work, right?  If so, do any of you have any ideas of how I can achieve this look with paint?  I don't think there is any possible way for me to get the rest of the stain off.  I have considered using a liquid sandpaper option, but I am not sure if that would work (I also am a bit scared of it since the label pretty much spells out it is dangerous).

Therefore, I need some advice.... Does anyone have any suggestions?  I am stuck with what the next step should be..... Please help!

For your time, I will be raffling a $15 Starbucks card to one lucky winner that posts a comment to this post.  I will draw the lucky winner using random.org on Friday, March 19th.

Thank you in advance for all your help!

31 comments:

  1. Wow, you sure did get the table sanded well, I don't think I'd have the patience to do that, I'd just go ahead and lash black paint on it, lol ;)
    Hope you'll add me to the drawing for the Starbucks card, it's been a while since I treated myself to one!

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  2. I think you can spraypaint it black and then use an "antiquing" over it, or a rub-n-buff - good luck

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  3. I think you could paint or spraypaint it a lighter "base" color, then go over it with espresso paint and use fine grit sandpaper to age it a little. You could also stain it espresso (probably with a few coats). The new stain will most likely not adhere to the parts where the old stain remains, so you could distress it a little all over to hide the imperfections.

    Good luck!

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  4. I'll be anxious to see what folks recommend. I have a table that I would like to paint black, also.
    Beckie in Brentwood, TN

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  5. I think I would definitely go with the black - very pretty!

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  6. I am a paint girl - haven't stained much...I
    also am a black paint girl...so you know my vote ! Come see my black re-do's and you will see how cool they are !
    Kammy

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  7. You do not want my advice (it would be a hot mess!), but good luck!!!

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  8. Very good job sanding! lol. I would go with black!

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  9. I would go with black too and then a mocha glaze.

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  10. I have a gorgeous antique library table that had awful dark, almost black lacquer finish. I sanded it the best I could but with the detail in the legs couldn't get it all the way off in some spots...I just went ahead and oil stained it, (a too light stain obviously wouldn't have worked)and it turned out beautifully and the imperfections just make it look its age. Hope this helps.

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  11. I've been slowly painting everything white so I can't give you any advice on painting it black but I must say, you did one heck of a great sanding job! I can't wait to see your finished table:)

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  12. I think if you stained it a dark espresso, distressed it a bit, then it would look great. But, you can never go wrong with black and I've always heard that there should be one black accent in a room. Go with your gut instincts!

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  13. Maybe you could try using a dremel tool with a sander piece to get into the nook and crannies. If not, then paint I think is the easiest but you could try using a textured paint or finish.

    Melissa

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  14. I think you'd be fine to stain even with the little bits of remaining stain (it would add depth and age). But I'm all about painting things black at the moment so that's what *I'd do! (Have you had a double-chocolate chip dark cherry frappucino at Sbucks yet?)

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  15. Love that table...it will look great!

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  16. I used a product from Howard called Restor-A-Finish on my son's bedframe. It was my dad's when he was a kid, so it was pretty beat up. I wanted to just get it done, so I didn't do much sanding at all. (True confessions here...) It turned out great! It's a little bit rustic looking, but works for his cowboy room. I imagine that with all the great prep work you have done, it would work great on your table. It comes in lots of finishes. I got it at an antique mall. Hope that helps!

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  17. With your blue walls, and white curtains and sofa, I think black would be ok...but a distressed brown or white/shabby chic look. Also, to match your green pillow an antiqued lime green might actually be fun!!

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  18. I think I would paint it either black or maybe a green like your pillow. But Black is always a classic. I just painted a china cabinet black and love the end result. Best of luck, Marla

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  19. I love the espresso brown. I'd paint it with that, then go over with a black antiquing glaze - just mix some black w/a little glaze, brush into nooks and crannies & wipe off.
    I also agree with using a Dremel to get into the nooks & crannies.
    Love the table, though!

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  20. black black black, and i love the idea to distress it :) can't wait to see the end result!

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  21. Oh yes, I have to agree with Colleen. Gorgeous table.

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  22. I would paint the legs and skirt a mat black , stain the middle section and the top and outline the edges and details with a bronze or flat gold
    The table looks a little country /french .
    If you want a totally different look you could stain it a silver gray and highlight the edges with a blue .

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  23. I have stained quite a few pieces and I have never been able to get all the previous stain off. As long as you are going darker the remaining stain on the legs should not be a problem.

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  24. Well....here's what I would try...and then probably have to retry...On my stairs I stained and then dry brushed over the top. They look fabulous but you can still see the wood grain, which is what I was going for. What you could do is stain it in whatever color you want (a dremel would get in the grooves, like Doll House said, if you want to get the rest of the stain off, but I don't think you need to.) So, stain it dark espresso or whatever. Then dry brush a really dark color, like black suede by behr (in one of the flat samples you get for 2 bucks) over the top. To fill in lighter areas and such. Then rough up the edges and stuff. THEN spray a clear lacquer over the top of the whole thing. I would use lacquer, not poly. That will make it look like a store bought piece. Right out of some chic store in NYC.... Hope that helps!

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  25. Hi! thank you so much for your sweet comment. We purchased our tile from Oceanside Glass Tile (glasstile.com) . all of the tile in our bathrooms are glass. The size is 2.5 x 10 and we used a bright white grout. I hope this helps and good luck with your reno!

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  26. Hi, I would stain the table tops dark mocha and go with an aged creamy color on the legs.
    Great job on the sanding!!
    Sharon
    slw_kerr@yahoo.com

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  27. A dark stain (perhaps the 'Espresso' shade from Varathane?) would cover over that remaining stain just fine. Go for it!

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  28. Great table re-do! :o)
    Thanks for entering me in the give a way.
    Sincerely ~ Tricia Anne

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  29. that table looks fantastic! i love furniture redo's and Starbucks!

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  30. That is some impressive stain that PB used. It looks like paint at first glance. I think it would stain fine in your current sanded stage. I think an espresso or black paint would be gorgeous too. Can't wait to see what you decide.

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  31. Wouldn't it just add to the charm? At least that's what I tried to convince myself as I chipped away chunks of wood off the table I was stripping paint off of. Jami

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