upcycle

We have a huge empty space in between our living room couches and my dream purchase would be something like this from Restoration Hardware to fill up the space:

These tables start at $995 on sale! Not gonna happen in my world.

So my craigslist scouring began and I kept coming back to round oak clawfoot tables (I guess everyone is trying get rid of these as there are a TON for sale). My husband thought I had completely lost my mind when I told him I was going to purchase one. Honestly, I thought I had lost my mind too!

So I took the plunge and purchased one for $60. The sweet woman I bought the table from threw in two chairs for free (more on those in a minute).

I forgot to take a before shot, but this set is pretty much identical to what I purchased:

I might have mentioned this before, but I am pretty impatient when it comes to projects. I am great at starting them, but finishing is another matter. So, when I found out about chalk paint I was hooked! You do NOT have to prime or sand your wood furniture beforehand. You just slap it on, wax it, buff it and you’re done!

I bought a sample jar of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen from Perfectly Imperfect. A 4 oz jar only costs $11.95 and I painted the entire table with it and still had some left over!

Source: Perfectly Imperfect

You also need wax to permanently bond the paint to your piece of furniture so I picked up both the clear and dark waxes. I wanted the dark wax to bring out the details and lines of my piece and to also add some character.

Once my paint and waxes arrived I have to admit I was a little nervous. But, my motto is “it’s just paint!” So I painted the entire piece and let it dry overnight. Next I applied the clear wax, let it sit for about 1 1/2 hours then buffed it to a satin shine. After that, I added the dark wax in places I wanted to add that “extra something.” So after two days, this is how my table turned out: