CHALK PAINT MAKEOVER: COFFEE TABLE (PART 2)

About 3 weeks before we moved to Illinois we were heading over to my sister-in-law's house for a little summer cookout. We were just a couple houses away from our destination when I noticed a huge pile of garbage/furniture thrown to the curb at another house on her street. I really didn't think anything of it as we passed. Then, something caught my eye in the rearview mirror. It looked like a decent coffee table, leaning on it's side in the grass. I couldn't even see the entire thing. We had just sold our coffee table and end table set, so I thought to myself that it couldn't hurt to look at it, could it? It was probably junk since it was on the curb ready for trash pick up. I quickly said hey to everyone at the cookout before I dashed down the street to take a look at it anyway.

And behold, it was a huge coffee table with gorgeous detailing and structure. It was real wood, but it had definitely seen better days.

BEFORE 

Sooooo you better believe I shoved that baby in our car. A few days later it was loaded onto a moving truck headed for Illinois with us. You can see it in the early stages in the picture of our living room at the bottom of this post. 

I finally got around to redoing this piece around the beginning of September. There was a LOT of sanding and filling to be done on this table.

If I'm being totally honest, the top part still did not turn out as smooth as I would have liked it. I'm not sure if it was just too scratched up to really fix well, or if I should have sanded it even more after the wood putty. Still, I love the way this (*free*) coffee table turned out after the paint job. And in the season of life with a little baby who loves to bang toys and crackers on our coffee table, it's not the worst thing to have something we don't have to worry about.

The coffee table was redone just like the end tables I blogged about last month as Part 1 of this post, but with a little something special. Instead of painting it all gray, I painted the table top with the same Rustoleum "Aged Gray", and the bottom half with Rustoleum "French Cream" (which actually appears more white than yellow in person). THESE COLORS, y'all. I love this combination so so much.

The thing that you HAVE. TO. do with chalk paint is seal with a wax. It is a must. I tested that theory out on this coffee table. I kept it in use in our living room without wax for a little over a week, and I had to physically clean finger prints and dirt smudges off of the table with a damp cloth multiple times over the course of that week. Everything clung to the dry, chalky surface of that table. That aint happenin'. So I finally threw on the wax and it made allllll the difference. 

So be sure to pick up some of this stuff when you are picking out your paint. It will last you a very long time, too! 

AFTER 

This was pre-wax (look how dry it looks!), but it gives you a really good idea of the color combination.

I had a ton of fun painting these three pieces of furniture...annnddd now I'm ready to sit back and enjoy them! I hope these posts have been helpful or have inspired you to go out and do something of your own. And be sure to send me pictures!