Coffee Table Makeover

One of the nice things about being home during winter break is that I get to tackle a few projects from my ever-growing list. Here's the project I've been working on for the past few days.

I bought this coffee table at the local antique/junk shop for $20. I don't think it's antique, but it was a good size, sturdy, and had nice curves.

In the course of painting all those curves, I nicknamed our table 'Marilyn'.

She was pretty beat up around the edges, and I wasn't loving the black paint. Also, she came with drawer pulls on her sides, which I thought was odd, but they were painted black and not that noticeable. I didn't think to take these pictures until after I had removed them, but you'll get to see them later...

I knew she needed a fresh paint job, and I agonized over the color... Something bold? Something neutral? At first I wanted something that would pop in our mostly light blue and beige living room, but then I thought about this table's future and figured I should stick with a neutral color to maximize her potential.

I finally decided on a light gray. I know, boring, but hey, this was after much careful thought and consideration. Once I had the paint mixed, it was to the basement with her (aka my workshop)!

Here she is, ready for her makeover. 

Before sanding I donned the recommended safety gear (don't want black paint dust up my nose or in my eyes).

I gave her a good 'roughing up' so the primer would adhere.
She roughed me up, too.
The next morning my arm was aching from all that sanding.

Sanding the black paint down was the worst. It was all over the tarp, the bottom of my shoes, my hands, my pants... subsequently tracked through the house.... Anyway, I wiped the table down real well after sanding and painted on one coat of primer.

Step 2:  Primed and ready - bye bye black!

The primer dried over night, and I was able to apply two coats of paint the next day. Once more night of drying and....

Ta-da! The light was not great for photographing today, but you get the idea. As soon as I got her upstairs, I wished I had gone with a bold accent color. She kind of blends in with the rug. Oh well. Live and learn. It was a pain in the you-know-what painting all her curves, so the plus side is this neutral tone will go with anything and won't have to be re-painted when we move or change up our color scheme.

You can see how the color is a little 'wah-wah' against the pale rug. Orange would have really popped!

In the pictures above you can see that I put her hardware back on, too. Before, the hardware was painted the same black as the table and blended in. I decided to give Marilyn a little something special by spray painting her hardware gold. I'm not sure why our table has drawer pulls, but now that they're gold, I really like them!

It feels good to check one project off my list. And now that I have most of a quart of primer and light gray paint left, I'm looking around the house to see what else I can makeover... I think this little girl is next:

I might learn from my mistake, though, and give her a good kick of  color!  ;)

*In case you are wondering, I used ACE Premium Royal Sealing Primer (with stain blocking) and ACE Cabinet, Door, & Trim semi-gloss paint in Ivanhoe. The guys at ACE Hardware recommended the cabinet/door paint because it's extra-tough and will resist chipping and wear.*