A coffee table- reborn!

My living room is getting closer to being complete! Over the weekend I finally made up my mind about the coffee table and put the finishing touches on it.

Here are some "before" and "after" pictures for you.





The top was thoroughly sanded and cleaned, then stained with "Special Walnut" by Minwax. I applied 3 coats of wipe-on poly in a satin finish to seal it. The legs got a couple coats of Rust-oleum's "Heirloom White", then a light distressing with my sander.

I really love how this table turned out. I think it's just perfect for my room.

Leaving part of a piece beautifully stained and painting the rest has opened up my eyes to new possibilities for furniture refinishing. I guarantee you I'll be doing this a LOT on future makeovers.

If you have a piece that you want to re-do but are a little hesitant to paint over your wood, consider this as an option. It might make painting less scary if you leave some of the wood alone, and I think it's a good compromise if you have a purist for a spouse who thinks all wood should be left unpainted, but you're convinced that sometimes it's okay to cover it up. With this treatment you can both be satisfied, and end up with a lovely "new" piece of furniture!

P.S. I'll be adding this to the Frugal Friday Linky Party going on at The Shabby Nest (my first time!) so hop over and see the other entries as well!