That's an improvement

[vanillafluffy]

One of the things I inherited from Kat was a side table that's currently being used as my coffee table. It's nothing special, but it has nice lines and is more suitable for the space I have. Somebody, at some point, painted the ersatz wood-grain top green.

Between the time it was painted and the time I got it, it got scratched up so that the ersatz wood-grain showed through in unsightly streaks. The chewed-up looking top bothered me. I have nothing against a genuinely aged piece, but this just looked BAD. I masked the surface with a runner, but was unsatisfied with that solution.

Therefore, while I was at WalMart today, I invested in a bottle of craft paint (hunter green) and this evening during Justified, I spread a couple of big plastic trash bags under the table and gave the top a quick going-over.

Now, I know craft paint isn't really intended for that sort of job, and it's liable to get just as messed up in the long run. But it's the large size bottle of paint ($2.49), so I have plenty for touch ups, and I already had a suitable paint brush (a souvenir of my ceramics hobby), so it's a small enough investment, and it really does look a lot better, even with just one coat. I'll give it another light coat tomorrow for good measure.

Little by little, it's getting better!
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Comments

[kukkurkurat.livejournal.com]

YES! DIY is such a good thing if you have the right tools and ideas and it all somehow comes together. GOOD for you!

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Eh, it's a little splotchy. I missed a few bits because the room by lamplight isn't outstandly well-lit. Still a work in progress....

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[ang5fam.livejournal.com]

You are just kicking ass and taking names!

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Albeit in no particular order....

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[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how a little TLC and some paint can transform a piece of furniture from "okay to feed the cats on" to "looks great in the living room." :D

We didn't have a coffee table right before the kid was born and were too poor to even think about buying one. Someone gave us a junk one with some rust on the metal legs and a scratched mahogany top. After a little Brillo on the legs and two coats of cordovan shoe polish on the top, we used it with pride for years.

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

The coffee table it replaced was clearly someone's DIY project. It reminded me of something my dad might've put together. It has a 2"x4" substructure and a good quality solid wood top carefully trimmed with half-round molding and painted semi-gloss black. I found it, after an extensive hunt for a coffee table, buried under a stack of TVs in one of the seedier local thrift stores. I paid $10 for it without knowing whether the top was okay (it was) and sweet-talked T into trucking it home for me to save the $5 delivery charge. I referto it as my "zen" coffee table for its clean simplicity, and I hope to work it into my decor again some day.
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[thru-the-blinds.livejournal.com]

I agree with pwcorgigirl, that it's amazing what a coat of paint can do. I've witnessed the phenomenon several times, myself. *grin*

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

It's definitely an improvement in this case. I was originally planning to "shabby chic" it in white, but this works better with the couch.

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