Trash Talkin' Tables

One of my favorite blogs is called Better After.  She actually just featured one of my favorite projects I've ever done, my kitchen table.

A woman down the street from us was giving away some furniture.  I went to look at what she had and she asked if I needed a kitchen table.  I didn't, but I was curious to see it.  She showed me this beauty and said that if I didn't take it and the other items, she was throwing them all away! I can't see good furniture (or a good  ANYTHING) thrown away, so I kindly asked my husband to throw his back out bringing it home for me. :)

So, here's the before and after.

With a couple coats of primer, paint and a can of black spray paint, it was transformed! I knew it would take a beating having little ones, so I distressed it on the edges and I love the look of it even more. I used a water based sealant similar to polyurethane, but without the yellowing effect. I was lucky enough to find 6 beautiful chairs on craigslist for only $15 each! And bonus for me, the bench from our last set worked perfectly too!

This next table is also on my "favorite projects" list.  I have been wanting something for my bathroom and couldn't find anything that was the right size (or the right price.) Then I stumbled upon an ugly, yet charming table for $2 at a yard sale.  I painted several coats on it...and then, to my 3 year old's horror, took an electric sander to it.  She was baffled as to why I would spend so much time working on it, only to destroy the paint.  She tried to be nice about it, but kept saying, "it looks cute there and there, but not there and there. It's only kinda cute there" (In all the sanded spots) 

Random side note:when my kids were asked to fill out "all about my mom" questionnaires for Mother's Day, they both put "painting" as the answer to "what is your mom good at?" Bless their hearts. 

This table was a hideous, peeling white mess when I bought it. I kept envisioning how great it could look.  With a lot of work.  Then I would work on it, for 3 minutes at a time.  Then I would sit in the hammock and read, pretending that I was waiting for the paint to dry.  Finally, I got all the peeling paint off and gave it a fun new color.  (Just don't look too close since I missed a couple spots. Translation:up close it looks like poo, but far away it's adorable. And the price was right at $5!)

I've always wanted one of these indoor/outdoor tables, but I'm too cheap to just buy one. A few weeks ago, a local thrift store posted a picture online of a different item for sale (first thing in the morning) and I saw this and about peed my pants. Yes, I just said that. I asked the owner, all through online chatting, if it was, in fact one of the tables I was thinking of.  She thought it was a vase.  I had to go look so I threw my 3 pajama clad, starving children in our van and ran to the store.  I wish I'd taken a before picture, it was hideous.  It had hibiscus flowers all over it, but for $5 I didn't care! After lots and lots of spray paint (and more time spent in the hammock reading between paint coats) it looks like this...

I think my favorite aspect of all of these makeovers is that I can just repaint them if after a while the colors make me nauseated. :) Don't be afraid to try a pop of color...you just might like it!