Yikes! It’s been almost a month since I’ve posted here. Don’t worry, I have been hard at work around the house and yard, as usual. :) We’ve been picking beans and corn and weeding and spreading mulch down in the new garden. And I’ve been repainting walls and refinishing furniture in the house. Today I am bringing you one of those house projects—refinishing the side table in our living room. This is a project I have been wanting/needing to do for a while now. We got this side table secondhand from my boss six years ago when we moved in and it fit perfectly between our two large couches. It has been neglected over the years, used and abused, and was in need of attention.
The other night while I was on the phone (best time to receive inspiration) staring at the scratches and water marks on the top, I thought, why not start on that tonight? So I did. I took it to the basement (which is wide open and ready for projects now that we got rid of our broken ping pong table) and promptly started sanding off the old finish with 150 grit on my palm sander. When I took out the little drawers I noticed there were screws under them to connect the frame to the table top… Hmm… I decided to take those out and see what happened. Then I found more screws on the other side and a whole row of them around the back! Turns out the “corner hutch” part of the table was only screwed on (no glue!) which meant that I could easily remove it. Eureka! I had never really used that area with the shelves and drawers and it was a bit outdated so I thought I would see what it looked like without it.
I finished sanding it down to the bare wood and got rid of all the scratches that evening. Then I suggested to Michael that we leave off the top part and just have a simple flat table instead. He was skeptical, so I carried it back upstairs for a visual. We both loved the new open look.
I filled in all the screw holes with wood putty, sanded those and then began restaining it with our favorite Bombay Mahogany polyshade. I did two coats on the whole thing then an additional layer of color on the top so it would be nice and dark. I figured the most light would hit the top so it needed to be the darkest area, plus you can’t really see the apron and legs anyway behind the couches. After the polyshade was dry I put on two coats of satin polyurethane. Then I waited for that to dry before carrying it back up to the living room.
Then came the accessorizing… my favorite part (except maybe sanding, that part was pretty fun, too!). I had to try out a new lamp shade (that I stole from the bedroom) and I loved the update! I added a brass bowl of TV incidentals and some dried hydrangeas which tie into the colors in the lamp shade. Plus I added a plant from the den (something for Bandit to chew on).
While I was reorganizing this side, I decided to spruce the other side, too, where I added a fern (more things for Bandit to chew on). Luckily these “Kimberley Queen” ferns are only $4.50 at Walmart so if this one doesn’t like my TLC (total lack of care) I can afford a new one to replace it down the line. I love it, it looks so fancy! The little urn we found in a pile of junk my neighbor was giving away for free. My mother carted off the whole lot of stuff which was mostly gardening supplies and old pots. But I snagged this little jewel for myself… hooray for free stuff!
And since we are doing the living room tour, I must show you my new mirror that is over the side cabinet. Mama got this mirror from a friend and then mentioned that I might want it... well, yes, yes I do! Thanks, Mama! Isn’t it lovely? I like how the curvy part at the top mimics the curves in the front of the cabinet. It’s way nicer than our old blah rectangle mirror.
Before I go, you know you want to see the before and after of the side table, right? Here you are:
Lovely! Now that the living room is finished, I can get back to the other room that’s in progress… the office. I repainted the walls and I am working on staining the bookcase. As soon as it’s done I’ll be back with the details! I have lots of work to be done before summer is over!
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