I often get emails from my readers with pictures attached asking if I think they should paint or stain a particular piece. I will post my thoughts on that later but here is the best of both worlds…a little paint and a little stain.
This end table started out as a $5 yard sale find (talked him down from $10…oh yah!). I loved how small it was, the shape of the tabletop, and the pedestal legs. I am in love with pedestals lately.
From a distance she doesn’t look too bad. But after closer inspection it looked like she got in a cat fight and lost. Plus she was a little shaky on her feet she must have had one too many drinks on her tabletop (pun TOTALLY intended!)
With a quick yank the base was disconnected from the tabletop due to the broken circle piece…
So with a flathead screwdriver and hammer I removed the little circle base. After I unscrewed the base there was a screw peg left that I removed to use later.
The table itself was a little too tall for the space I was putting it so I cut it down with my hacksaw a few inches.
Then I reattached the small screw peg.
I picked up a small circle plaque ($.59) at Joann’s to replace the circle I detached. I also purchased a new top plate ($1.58) at Lowe’s.
I spent about 40 minutes stripping and sanding the tabletop down. I went from 60-100-180-220 grit sandpaper. The only stain I had was an English Chestnut color from Minwax. With an old t-shirt I applied one even coat.
Really important: If you are working with a soft wood like pine you NEEEEEEED to apply a pre-wood conditioner first or your stain will be splotchy. To test for a wood’s hardness dig your fingernail into it. If it leaves a mark use pre-wood conditioner.
After letting it dry I applied 3 light coats of Satin Polycrylic (sanding with 220 grit sandpaper in between).
While I was waiting for the top to dry I spray primed and painted the legs and circle plaque with Rustoleum’s Heirloom White that I had on hand.
I attached the screw plate to the circle plaque. In hindsight I could have purchased longer screws and screwed it through the plaque into the tabletop. But I used what I had. I also didn’t need the wood plaque but it gave the table more substance.
I predrilled holes into the tabletop since it was a really hard wood. Then I added the circle plate.
Then I screwed the pedestal base into the metal plate.
It is the perfect little table to sit next to my chair (click here to see the evolution of this chair) .
Most of the time I would tend to go matchy matchy and paint it black. But I like the contrast of the wood with the black chair.
