Happy Monday, Friends! I hope you had a nice weekend! We sure did, and I did something productive! I finally got around to painting a few of my end tables. Come see how to paint a table black!
I’ve had these nesting tables for several years. I bought them at a consignment store in Doylestown with the intention of painting them. They are very sturdy and in great shape, it’s just that oak doesn’t fit into my decor. And the tables looked a little old and dated. All of the other wood finishes in our great room are cherry, mahogany or black so I wanted the tables to be one of the three.
Since it was such a nice weekend I pulled the tables out in to the garage and started to work. You can see the top of the larger table has some water marks and blemishes. Nothing a good sanding and coat of paint can’t fix!
First I sanded the two tables using my Corner Cat sander by Ryobi. I love this sander because it has a pointed tip making it easy to get into tight spots and edges. ( Ryobi Corner Cat Sander here ) Sanding a piece of furniture prior to painting is always a good idea. Also, if you need to fill in any cracks or holes, this is a good time to make necessary repairs. Then sand the piece again to ensure a nice finish on the surface of your piece.
After a thorough sanding, I wiped down the tables and gave them each a coat of black chalk paint, mostly because it was what I had on hand. I really didn’t like the result since chalk paint has a flat finish. I even tried using a dark wax to give them a bit of a sheen. It’s better than the oak finish but I still didn’t like it. Plan B.
So, a quick text to my friend Tracy, who is a furniture painter extraordinaire, for a bit of advice. Tracy owns Vintage Funk in Hulmeville, PA and paints furniture all of the time. Tracy told me her go-to paint for black furniture is an oil-based black satin paint by Rust-Oleum. ( Rust-Oleum Satin Black Paint here ) A quick trip to Ace Hardware and I was all set! I ended up using their brand which is basically the same thing. This paint goes a long way, too. I bought a quart and I have over ¾ left. (I’m sure I’ll find something else to paint black in the near future!)
I considered the black chalk paint my primer coat, so I painted right over the paint with the oil-based satin paint. It has just enough shine to make the tables look a bit dressier, which is the look I was after. I only did one coat of the satin paint and it turned out great! (Make sure when you paint, brush along with the lines of the grain for a more professional look.) After the tables dried over night, there were some brush marks which I sanded out a bit with a piece of fine grit steel wool. I polished them up with some furniture oil and put them in place. Now they look great!
I really love how nicely the tables turned out. Isn’t paint the most amazing way to transform a piece of furniture? Or two?
Our new house doesn’t have a formal living room and the Great Room is the room you see first when you walk into the house. This room also serves as our primary entertaining space so I want it to feel more formal. We just bought a new sofa so that spurred me into action as far as getting the rest of the room up to speed. I think the painted tables look much better! The sofa came from the Bernhardt Outlet in Hickory. I do love nail head trim!
I’m a little concerned because the fabric is such a light color, but hopefully we can keep Lacey off of it and at least save it from dog hair and paw prints. I am on the lookout for new throw pillows too. The sofa came with a few but they are blue and don’t match. I just threw on a few pillows I already had on hand. Homegoods, anyone?
A quick before and after picture. Big difference, right?
We have a long way to go before we are finished with the Great Room, but this is a nice start! One more project off of my to-do list! What are you working on right now? Anything fun? Be sure to send pictures and details. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time! xoxo Dell
