I got this cute little side table a while ago when I first got into re-doing furniture. Truthfully, this is probably the second or third piece of furniture I ever did, so needless to say there was a lot of “firsts” on this piece.
I came across this post advertising this piece for a really good deal and they owners were willing to meet me in my area. San Antonio is a huge city and I couldn’t afford to drive 30 miles across town, after work in rush hour traffic. The owners told me the piece was in good condition and since the price was already low I didn’t bother to offer any less since they were the ones driving across town.
So, long story short…it was a good thing I met the owners in a public place. Needless to say they were questionable people, and were selling it for quick cash. They were very awkward and seemed to be in a rush so I just grabbed the table and handed them the money without engaging in conversation about the piece. I hauled butt to get out of there!
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It was all covered in veneer, dusty and grimy. The bottom of the drawer was cracked, and it had “Robert McHutchen” written on the inside of the drawer. Maybe the previous owner? My husband removed the veneer to the top since we knew we wanted a two-tone piece. What we found underneath was gorgeous wood, so we were excited that our very first stain project would hopefully work out the way we wanted. The top was sanded with 150 and then smoothed out with 220.
I hand sanded the whole piece with 150 grit paper to roughen up the surface. I washed all the dirt and dust out of the detailed trim and gave it a good rinsing. Then I went over the whole piece with a clean cloth to get any excess dirt.
I settled on “Lyric Blue” by Behr for the base color. It is a gorgeous blue-grey color that isn’t too deep but perfect to blend in with most colors in a home. I used a homemade chalk recipe (grout) to this which leaves a rough consistency and but smoothes out with a good sanding.
Sidenote: I’ve chosen not to use this recipe anymore, because it can thicken up a paint to the point where it dries almost instantly. Its also extremely toxic when sanding, so if you don’t own a respirator or wear a mask, you get all those particles into your lungs when you breath it in!
This was also my first time using a dark wax on a piece. I have to say, I found it extremely difficult to work with. I used Briwax in Dark Brown and it was ok, but if you use too much, your piece can look dirty. But after I went back and cleaned it up with clear wax, I found the best place to apply it was in the trim since it accents it well and brings out the detail that would have otherwise blended in.
Once all the dark wax was sorted out, I went over with clear wax and buffed it out to a matte sheen. We stained the top in Rustoleum’s “Dark Walnut” and sealed it with their semi-gloss water-based polyurethane. The wood turned out beautifully! Lastly was adding the scroll knob I got at hobby lobby for $.89!
I think this table would look cute in a bathroom as a stand for washbowls, soaps and perfumes. I loved how many of my firsts didn’t end up being epic fails!
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