An Outdated End Table's Awesome Makeover!

Hey guys!

I was actually able to sit outside last night for a good thirty minutes without sweating half my body-weight off :) 

Seriously

That's an accomplishment to be excited about.

We got a coolish wind last night and I got to sit outside and read the latest DIY magazine. 

It's the small things, guys. 

I've been a furniture painting machine this past weekend. 

I've also been guzzling water like nobody's business to make up for all the fluids I lose while painting them :)

And you know I mean business if I'm drinking water, because I kinda sorta hate water. 

Yup. I'm that person. 

But it was well worth it. 

At least, looking back on it I can say that.

Cuz there were definitely some hiccups that led to a mini breakdown on Saturday.

Have you ever wanted to take a hammer to a piece that just. won't. cooperate. 

...Yea...me neither. 

Except that I really did on this one piece I was dealing with.

But we won't talk about it right now.

I'll post about it after I'm done being mad at it.

Let's move on to a piece that had a happier makeover, kay? 

Let's talk about this guy. 

Gah! 

I know, right? 

I've done lots of end table redos but this has to be the most outdated and boring :/ 

Sorry little table. 

My husband thought I was NUTS when I saw this one on the side of the road.

It probably had something to do with the po-dunk area we were in but I saw a huge pile of junk and couldn't help but get excited. 

So the sweet guy that he is (shaking his head the whole time) pulled over and let me quickly sift through. 

There were TONS of pieces- lots of crap. 

But I ended up with two tables and as soon as I saw this one, 

I immediately envisioned ripping that webbing/mesh out. 

So home it came. 

First, I flipped it upside down to see if the weathered wood that I was dying to use would work.

Eek! It would :)

The widths were perfect- all I had to do was cut them to the lengths they needed to be. 

And then that lovely mesh. 

Yea well, I took a hammer to it. 

Call it therapy but it needed to go!

I took a needlenose pliers to the little bits that were more stubborn. 

And now I had a nice, open surface to work with.

But that gold trim had to go too. 

Luckily, it easily popped out with the pliers. 

After popping the trim out,

I had a new problem.

I needed something to cover up the yuck stuff that was left around the edges. 

It was all peeling MDF and I wanted something funky. 

Enter in paint stirrers!!

They were the PERFECT width and I used the miter saw to cut them to the lengths and angles I needed. 

I gave the table a GOOD sanding and then took my fave glossy white to it. 

And score! 

Right now, you can get 25% more for the same price.
I love you, Lowes. 

I went ahead and painted the paint stirrers the glossy white as well. 

Here it is hanging out: 

While the table dried,

I decided to poll you, my fabulous readers, as to what color to paint the wood slats I wanted to put in. 

If you're not hanging with me on my Facebook page, you're missing out!
Because I definitely love getting your opinion on things like this :)

It was between a whitewashed wood color or staining it a dark walnut. 

Walnut won. 

So I painted the wood slats in the gorgeous walnut and waited for everything to dry.

Then....I got uber focused and forgot to take more pictures.

Here's a peek of it all put together: 

Mmm. Gorgeous, right?? 

Basically, once everything dried, I started putting it all together. 

The paint stirrers were glued on with wood glue around the edges. 

Worked like a charm. 

Then I flipped the table over and used my air compressor gun to staple all the wood pieces into place. 

I just several staples into each end where the slat overlapped onto the main frame. 

Easy peasy. 

Want to see the whole look??

I am so IN LOVE with how it turned out.

It was questionable at first but so worth the risk :)

The dark walnut wood slats contrast the glossy white perfectly. 

Can you believe it's the same table??

I promise it is!

I slightly distressed the edges just because it was seriously calling for it. 

And you can't say no when the furniture speaks, right?? 

Hmm. 

Maybe I painted wayy too much this weekend :)

This piece did take a little more time for the vision for it to come about. 

I knew right away I wanted to get rid of the mesh top but it took a while for the exact combination of things to come together. 

Plus, you guys totally helped :)

I get comments & emails a lot saying that I make it look easy which I love to hear but at the same time, don't think that hiccups and bumps don't come up for me. 

You'll hear all about some of those bumps when I decide to get over my tantrum with the other table. 

But it's not always a quick and easy process, I promise. 

My biggest tip when things aren't going just right?? 

Walk away for a bit.

Sometimes walking away from the problem allows for a little more clarity when you come back to it. 

Either your frustration is lessened or you just have a fresh outlook for it. 

Either way, step away, grab a Dr. Pepper (if you're me!) and come back to it in thirty minutes, or three hours, or a day or two. 

Don't let it get you crazy. 

It's just a hunk of wood, after all. 

This piece was in sad shape and it took a lot of patience to get it looking good again :) 

Need another reminder of just how far it came?? 

I don't know if paint will ever cease to amaze me!!

What do you think??
Worth the elbow grease?

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