Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Coffee Table Re-Fashion Goes to Paris

One of the things I have done pretty little of here is
redo/revamp/refashion furniture!
I enjoy doing it...and I do it now and then in my real life,
but do not always blog about it.
I surely do not consider myself an expert in this field...
but I do love a challenge!

Recently I was asked to participate in the Wayfair DIY Blogger Challenge.
So, of course, I accepted!
Basically I was allowed to select a piece of furniture from
the Wayfair website and given a gift card 
for supplies and asked to see where my imagination would lead me. 

Well, that was the problem...my imagination led me all over the place! 
I ended up selecting this coffee table to refashion...

...and had about 100+ ideas for it...
including a kids art desk, an art cart, a rolling game/puzzle table.
I kind of overwhelmed myself.
I went out and bought wood, casters, spray paint, handles, and other supplies...
and then I changed my mind!
I was making this way too complicated 
(I am really good at that)
and...
I started to paint the table top and did not like it...
so I scratched that idea.

Do you see why????
 See...not pretty, right?
The weather had been OK...until it was time to spray paint
and then got cold and wet...so that did not help!

Then I remembered that I had a great place for this table in the guest room
(which I am continually refashioning too)...and I kind of wanted to create a girly Parisian vignette  that included my favorite old books, my French Labeled Eggs, my cameo art and other fabulous goodies!


I pulled out some DecoArt Metallic Finish in Silver and Mod Podge,
and went to creating!

SUPPLIES
Piece of furniture (from Wayfair)
Mod Podge Matte
 Paint Brush or foam brush (for Mod Podge)
Foam Brush for Metallic Finish
 Paper Towels or a rag
 DecoArt Elegant Finishes Metallic Paint, Silver
2 sheets, Decorative paper (I got mine at Aaron Brothers) 
Krylon Clear Polyurethane Spray
Upholstery tacks/Upholstery Nails
Small hammer

MAKE IT!
First...assemble you piece of furniture, following all of the directions.
This piece only took me 30 minutes to put together.

It just took a few screws, some dowels and a dusting off
and the table was ready for its transformation.

 

Since I thought I was spray painting, I had sanded the entire piece.
It does help the paint adhere.
I started by applying the metallic paint only along the edges of the piece
and then realized I like the look of it all over.
(Good thing because I had already sanded my piece!)
I did continue using a heavier coat on the edges, because I liked the effect.


Using a paper towel (rag) and a foam brush, I applied the Elegant Finish all over the piece, working in smaller sections at a time. 

I gently wiped off the finish as I went,
often touching up the corners and crevices with the foam brush.

Let the finish dry.

Once dry, spray the entire piece with Krylon Clear Polyurethane and let it dry. 

Layout the paper on the table top to ensure placement and coverage.
Apply one liberal coat of Mod Podge on the entire table top.


Place the paper and smooth with your hands
(or sometimes I like to use a 3" plastic putty knife/scraper).

Once smoothed and placed correctly,
apply another 1-2 coats of Mod Podge on the top of the paper.
My paper was not the size of the table top, I tore another piece and placed them overlapping.

Let dry slightly between coats. Continue to smooth as needed.
I did NOT finish my edges in a clean cut I tore the edges
and folded them over to create an old feeling detail.
(see photo below) 
Let dry.  

Apply upholstery tacks around the edge of the table using a hammer.
You can also use any other sort of trim you prefer. 

I just placed the tacks about every 1.5" and pounded them in...
EASY and inexpensive for a great detail.


So, that is my little transformation!

A larger view...


A close up of the shelves


Now I need to make that art cart!  
  Head over and check out the other projects
on the Wayfair DIY Challenge Pinterest Board!
 
Signature 
This post is written and created at 504 Main by Holly Lefevre

disclosure: I was provided a piece of furniture by Wayfair and a gift card by GiftCards.com to participate in this challenge.

14 comments:

  1. This is so pretty Holly! I love the paper you used on top and the metallic finish really gives it a great look! Nice job!!

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  2. Wow. That looks amazing now! What a rocking job!! The top is so special now, it looks like a neat old vintage piece :)

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  3. Great idea ... completely unique! I'm doing the challenge too and I chose the same piece of furniture ... reveal coming soon! ;)

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  4. Very cool! I can't wait to see what everyone else made!

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  5. That's so cute! Putting some of those tables together have driven me crazy over the years, just to turn out cheap looking. This tables rocks!

    Kristy @ Shona Skye Creations
    http://shonaskye.blogspot.com

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  6. Hollly, this looks very chic and very 50's! I tell you girl, you do have an eye for style indeed. Well done.

    warm hugs,

    cotton peony

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  7. Love, love, love, so cute. I think the tack detail is perfect. How did we survive before Mod Podge?

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  8. That is so awesome!! You did a great job and made it such an awesome piece! Seriously great job and great tutorial.

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  9. Wow, Holly! It turned out beautifully. What a treasure! And that's one of my all-time favorite maps from Cavallini!

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  10. Oh my gosh, Holly! I love this idea. My son is moving into his first house--I'm going to look for a little table to do this with. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  11. Crafty and Cute! I really like the nail head detail, great job Holly!

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  12. Wonderful job...vintage and classy. Love it.

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  13. Oh my goodness...that's so cute! I love it LOTS! XO, Aimee

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  14. What a beautiful job you've done, Holly! :)

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Thanks for stopping by and joining the conversation! I sure hope you come back for more!