Another Clock Table

My love affair with clocks is not over!

  My first clock coffee table has been one of my most popular projects, and I also made a clock patio table here.  But this new one…may just be my favorite!

When I came across this little solid wood piece at Goodwill, it had to come home with me. 

You can see that while the finish is mostly in good shape, there were a few places where it had definitely seen better days!

Thank goodness it didn’t matter for what I had in mind for it! 

I painted it with a homemade chalk paint mixture, and then came the fun part…

I raided my paint stash for all the greys, browns, whites, and creams I had…and I didn’t care whether I was working with latex or acrylic!  I just wanted layers and layers of color.

I created my graphics with my Silhouette, and painted those on with black latex paint.

Then I went to town with distressing it and making it look “old.”

This was a piece I took with me to the barn sale, but I brought it home.  Maybe everyone doesn’t love clocks as much as I do, or maybe round coffee tables are harder to work with!

Whatever the reason…I don’t mind hanging on to it for a little while longer…but it is on Craigslist if you’re in the Seattle area!

 

***************************

Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	A Little Knick Knack

The Rustic X Coffee Table

I have to show off one of my latest building projects.  The wonderful family who bought this Farmhouse Table as well as the Buffet Table from me commissioned me to build a coffee table for them.   I used the Rustic X Coffee Table plan from Ana White.

They wanted the color of the coffee table to complement their dining table, but not be exactly the same.  So while I started out with the same custom mix, I gave it an extra coat of stain that was more heavily gray.

It always seems such a shame to sand and sand and sand a table to get it nice and smooth…and then beat the heck out of it with a hammer, chain screwdriver, pliers…anything to get the carefully manufactured “aged” look!

The original plan was for a 52-inch-long table, but I cut it down to 46 inches to suit this family.  That has got to be the best feature of build-your-own furniture—being able to customize the size for your space!
Oh, and I must tell you…building the X’s was tricky for me!  I think they turned out pretty well, but I will never try to fool you that they’re perfect by any stretch of the imagination!

It looks pretty good in my living room, don’t you think??

***************************

 

This project has been featured at Elizabeth & Co. and My Repurposed Life.

 

*************************

Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence	Someday Crafts
Knick of Time Mod Vintage Life	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	Sawdust Throwdown
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	All Star Block Party A Little Knick Knack
The Scoop! Thrifty Décor Chick	{aka} design Coastal Charm

French Postcard Table

I haven’t really fallen off the planet, I promise.  I just seem to have come down with a serious case of blog ennui. 

I don’t think it’s terminal.

All my kids are back in school this week, and the weather seems to be cooling down a little bit.  So the urge to work on some furniture has finally hit, and that’s a good thing (I have quite a stash accumulated).  One of this week’s projects was this coffee table:

It started out like this:

I doubt you can tell from the picture, but the finish on the top is almost completely gone.  What did someone do to that table, I wonder??  Not that I care, really, because it makes refinishing it much easier!

I went through my stash of French typography (mainly courtesy of the Graphics Fairy), and decided this table wanted to look like a vintage French postcard (similar to—but not exactly like—my white postcard table I painted last summer).

There have been a LOT of typography tables since my first French Chocolate table, so it’s a challenge to change things up enough not to be boring!  So for this table, I played around with a little color.  Although the address is in black, the note that crosses the top corner is actually in a dark charcoal to differentiate it.

But my favorite is the postmark in my favorite color…RED!

The base of the table got a good scrubbing and refreshed with a little oil-rubbed bronze paint.   Doesn’t it have a pretty shape? 

So there you have it.  I’m still kicking and still painting  ;-)

Happy Fall, ya’ll!

This project has been featured at the Graphics Fairy, Elizabeth & Co., From My Front Porch to Yours, and aka design.

***********************************************

Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	The CSI Project
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Beyond the Picket Fence	Thrifty Décor Chick
Knick of Time Mod Vintage Life	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	All Star Block Party
Cowgirl Up! The Graphics Fairy	{aka} design Coastal Charm

Patisserie Coffee Table

I have been working like crazy to finish projects for the Whitaker Flea Market this Saturday—I haven’t even had time to read my favorite blogs (now that’s busy)!

But I thought I’d pop in and show you one of the projects that will be going with me.  A neighbor of mine was cleaning out her garage, and would you believe she was going to take this table to Deseret Industries (that’s Utah’s Goodwill)??

OK, so I forgot to take a real “before” picture…but here’s the top, being sanded my my handy-dandy-helper-who-wants-to-earn-money-for-a-new-game…

…and here’s the base (which is actually a dark green color).

I decided to make another coffee table along the lines of the French chocolate coffee table, so I chose a graphic and pulled out my overhead projector:

…working on it…

…done!

The next day I distressed the lettering and gave the table top a coat of antique walnut stain.  I sanded back the stain in places, since I didn’t want it to look too perfect—it’s supposed to look like an old crate, after all!

I painted the base in a creamy white, and glazed it with antique walnut stain.  This table has LOTS of distressing, and the glaze makes it look “on purpose” rather than “beat up.”

This coffee table is HUGE:  40” x 50”.  Perfect for games, puzzles, or pizza!

I really enjoyed doing another graphic project like this…it has been too long!

This table has been featured at aka design.

******************************************

Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Sisters of the Wild West	The CSI Project
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Beyond the Picket Fence	Primitive & Proper
Knick of Time	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	Thrifty Décor Chick
Simply Klassic Sundays	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	It’s So Very Cheri
Cowgirl Up!	{aka} design

The “Painted Hive” Coffee Table

Last fall I was contacted by Shelby, who was interested in having me re-do a coffee table for her. She wondered, “Had I ever seen the round table at The Painted Hive?”

Have I ever!

Kristine’s beautiful furniture makeovers are an integral part of my Pinterest “Great Furniture” folder!

Shelby brought me this lovely coffee table which she had found on KSL.com, and asked me to refinish it ala “Painted Hive,” although slightly less distressed.

The base was painted in a Behr Ultra paint color-matched to Sherwin-Williams “Creamy” paint. The top is stained with three coats of Minwax Antique Walnut stain, and then I hand-distressed and glazed the base to bring a little “age” to the piece.

I love the way the white shelf looks on the bottom!

Shelby also brought me this little pine table to get a similar makeover.

She planned on replacing the knob herself, so her it sits—knobless…

…but I think it will be a great complement to the “Painted Hive” coffee table!

*********************************

Linking up here:

Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday	Elizabeth & Co.
Domestically Speaking’s Power of Paint	Stylish Once Again
Thrifty Décor Chick	No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Primitive & Proper	I Heart Naptime
Beyond the Picket Fence’s Under $100 Party	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
Simply Klassic Sundays	My Repurposed Life
	It’s So Very Cheri
Common Ground

Compass Coffee Table

Oh, coffee tables…how I have missed you…

After my coffee-table-painting-spree last spring (all beginning with the French Chocolate table), there has been a dearth of coffee tables in my life.

It’s been very sad.

OK, that’s not really the truth.  The truth is that this particular coffee table has been sitting around half-finished in my garage for months.  But my post-Christmas don’t-know-what-to-do-with-myself-itis finally made me get it done!

I fell in love with Vintage Revival’s painted compass rug back in…let’s see, I think it was May—and promptly saved it to my “bookmarks.”  (See, it was so long ago, it was pre-Pinterest!)

I thought the compass idea would be great for a table, so I went on the hunt for a round coffee table and found this one:

After sanding, I base-coated it white, but then I dry-brushed two or three (I can’t really remember anymore) other shades of white and cream onto it to give the color a little depth.

Then it sat…and sat…and sat…in my garage.  It got dusty and dirty; it got paint remover spilled on it…it got circles of stain from the stain can on it…

I call it “character–building.”

Finally this week I decided to just GITTER-DONE (ala Funky Junk)!  After touching up the paint, I generally followed Mandi’s tutorial, and with the aid of a yardstick and a 45-degree triangle, I drew my compass with a pencil.  (I also did a Google search for “how to find the center of a circle,” because I no longer remember.  I used the instructions here.)

Guess what?  You can erase pencil marks off of paint pretty good.  Thank heavens.

I painted the compass design with plain old acrylic paint, while crawling around on the floor next to the table.  My knees are still sore. 

I don’t really have too many intermediate pictures…sorry; my kids have to go to school sometimes…so let’s just jump in to the “after,” OK?

The distressed the table pretty heavily, going down to the wood in places, but also showing off the layers of “white.” 

I glazed the whole thing with Jacobean stain mixed with Martha Stewart glazing medium.

I really, really love it!

Hmmm…maybe I should try this on a rug!

******************************************

This project has been featured at It’s So Very Cheri, Better After, Stylish Once Again, Elizabeth & Co., Bless My Nest, and…

*********************************************

Linking up here:

Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday	Elizabeth & Co.
Domestically Speaking’s Power of Paint	Stylish Once Again
Hookin’ Up with House of Hepworths	No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Beyond the Picket Fence’s Under $100 Party	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
Mod Vintage Life	My Repurposed Life
Too Much Time on My Hands	It’s So Very Cheri
Common Ground	Artsy Girl Connection

Knock-Off Clock Table

I have very sad news to share today…this is going to be my last coffee table post (for a while, at least). Yes, it is true. After refinishing FIVE coffee tables this spring/summer, I am out! There are no more in my garage. (I think I might cry just a little.)

For the record, there was the French Chocolate table (that one is mine), Café table, the Postcard table (that one my little sister claimed), and the Black Coffee table! Oh, and then there was the French Twist table (not technically a coffee table, but sometimes I put my hot chocolate on it).

For this last one, I did branch out a little…no French ads here! Instead, how about a little….Roman??

Ever since I made this clock table in the spring, I wanted to do it again, but on a smaller scale, and more like the Pottery Barn clock I have admired so much…

. So…I had been on the hunt for a round coffee table!

And what did I find? This beautiful $8 maple table from a garage sale.

You can’t see it, but there was quite a crack in the top, and that’s why I got such a great deal. For my purposes, a little crack wasn’t going to deter me!

I painted the whole table barely off-white, but then I also brushed on at other shades of white and cream to give it some depth.

Not wanting to waste paper or vinyl, I used my Silhouette to cut a single I, V, and X out of paper, and traced them with a pencil onto the table top. (No, I did NOT use an overhead projector! That’s a shocker.) Then I filled in the outlines with black acrylic paint.

I heavily distressed this table (well, it was heavy for me), and then I glazed it in both black and brown.

I really loved the aged feel of this piece.

Hope you enjoyed a coffee table in a different language!

************************************************

This project has been featured at Saved by Love Creations, Knock Off Decor, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Copy Cat Crafts, A Little Knick Knack, Bless My Nest, Sisters of the Wild West, and The DIY Show Off.

*************************************************

Linking up to these great parties here.