We are FINALLY in the new place, and I couldn’t be more in love. Mostly with my new (old) coffee table, but since I don’t want any other piece to feel left out, I’ll say I’m in love with the whole place. But really the coffee table gets the final rose. It’s gorgeous, classy, has life experience, and has had a face lift. What more could you want in a table?

I knew when we were planning on buying a new (town)house, that we would need a lot of new furniture. Because I’m thrifty (read: cheap), I wanted to find some pieces I could buy and mold into something I wanted. I tried to do that with my husband too, but unfortunately he’s still a Bears fan.

I found an ad on Craigslist for three tables: two end tables, one coffee table = $40. Done and Done! I picked those babies up the next day. The finish was a little strong for me, but my vision was even stronger.

I borrowed an electric sander from a co-worker and bought all my supplies. I thought this thing was going to be easy peasy. Done and done.Not quite. No one tells you that sanding the finish off tables is going to take you hours. HOURS. I started with one end table, and after over an hour I gave up on getting it completely sanded. I did however sand the entire top of the coffee table. It took me three hours. Seriously.

Compared to that, the rest was like eating cake. Or a cheeseburger. With avocado.

I swiped a little gray stain onto that baby and gave it a good coating. Once the stain dried I painted the white coat over it. Since I wanted a distressed look, I only used two coats. When that was dry, I used sand paper to sand away the edges and let the gray shine through. And it worked. Splendid.

I left the top of the coffee table with just the gray stain (sprayed a matte clear spray paint over to coat it), but painted the entire end table. I loved the look of the coffee table so much, I should have done both that way. Oh well. You live and you learn. And then you get bored in a few months and start over.