Restoration in Blue
When I feel the urge to do a creative project, my car seems to drive itself to the nearest thrift store to look for that perfect little piece with plenty of issues and plenty of potential. To satisfy my recent creative itch I found the perfect piece at the Habitat Restore. I love buying there since they use the profits toward their house-building projects. A win-win!
As I was walking through, I saw this little side table. It was a great piece, solid wood, really heavy, with wonderful detail on the front. Some damage to the top and one of the sides, but the price was beyond right…. $19! Sold!
On these types of projects my first step is to do a lot of looking at the piece letting a vision slowly form of how it could look good. With this table I knew right away it needed to be sanded, especially to mask the damage to the original finish. Out came my mask and trusty sander. Because the piece was probably from the 60s or 70s the dried-out finish sanded off easily.
Fast forward to refinishing. I thought staining the top a lovely warm walnut color would bring out its natural beauty. To give the rest of the table personality my strategy was to work the flaws to draw out character. I started with several coats of white chalk paint then began distressing the detailed front pieces by painting, wiping away, sanding by hand, adding stain, and repeating this process until I started getting the look I wanted. The desired look was an older piece slowly wearing away. In other words, your basic distressed look.
Once my vision began taking shape, I shared some photos with my daughters and a friend or two for some outside input. My youngest daughter suggested bringing in color, a blue or a green, on the body instead of white. As I looked at the piece and considered her advice, I agreed it looked a bit blah. So, I checked my inventory of leftover paint and found a nice blue. Next step, creating chalk paint out using my leftover blue. Right away, I knew it was the right decision. (Thanks honey!) After a coat or two and more light sanding, my work was done.
I love the way this table turned out! So much fun to take someone’s discard and turning it into a great accent piece. This is the essence of redesign—one of my life’s passions. I hope you are inspired to tap into your creative side and make your own magic. And please reach out to us at The Redesign Habit to ask questions or share one of your projects.
