Painting Failures and Triumph...Kinda

Well, I'm finally going to show you this little project that has given me such a headache!  I bought this little table about 3 months ago at a thrift store at half price for a whopping $1.50.  At that price, I couldn't resist.  What would this little beauty become?  Who would benefit from it's uniqueness?  Whose room would it reside in?  Hmmm.  Let's think about it for....Oh, I don't know, 3 months!  Sometimes, I just need to think about things for a while!  Here's what I started with.


And here's how it turned out.


This little baby is going in my girls' bedroom.  They decided they wanted a grey and yellow room, so my inspiration came from their color scheme of course.  There was quite a bit of damage to work through.


But it had these beautiful curves and claw feet!


I know many people have a hard time painting over wood.  I grew up like many of you being told, "You never paint over wood!"  This is a beautiful table, but with all the curves I knew I wouldn't be able to sand it all down and re-stain it to look new.  I also don't have a hesitation when it comes to painting over wood with a piece like this. I've outgrown that and believe if you can make it look better with paint, then get the paint brushed out!  So last week, I finally took it out again and started working on it. 

As always, sand it down first.

I used my small hand sander for the table top.  For the curvy legs,  I used 150 grit sand paper.  To make the sanding process a little easier, cut the paper in strips and fold it into three sections like this.


The legs took the longest and it wasn't perfectly sanded.
But it was good enough.  Here it the table all sanded and ready for primer.

I used a grey spray primer after sanding and wiping off all the sand.

Then I brushed on my first coat of grey paint.  I got this FREE quart of grey paint called Winter Chill from Ace Hardware.  I love this color...
...But it was to light for the table.

So I mixed the light grey paint with a little black paint I had in my garage.


The darker grey was just right so I let it dry and added the yellow in a few places by free hand.  The yellow paint was also FREE from Ace Hardware on one of their give away weekends.  The yellow color is called Butterfly.

Then I ran into my second problem.

 Ok, so I painted the top yellow but I didn't just want a plain table top.  So what did I do.  I stenciled flowers on top of course....and of course they were all wrong too.


My girls are 10 and 12 and the flowers are cute but they made the table look like it belonged in a nursery instead.  So I sanded once again, and once again I had another idea...that was also a failure.



 On picture this doesn't look terrible, but it really didn't match with the rest of the table and no one in my family really likes the shabby chic look.  So once again, this idea is out the door!  I decided to just make it a plain yellow table top.  If inspiration hits later, so be it.  I can always change it, right? Right!


The girls needed a small table for their small room.  This fits perfectly as a nightstand and works with their chosen color theme.  This was a $1.50 makeover, so I'm pretty happy with that!  Curtains and paint will be happening this summer too so stay tuned for their room reveal!

So what do you think?  
It's a little bit of improvement with a little bit of paint.  Works for me....even over wood!

Be sure to come back later this week and check out our Laua party ideas. 

Blessings,
Lisa
I link all my projects with some wonderful blogs.  To visit them, go to the {Link Party Love} page found at the top of this page on the {Home} bar.
Also linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Love Creations 
Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm 
Tip Junkie 
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Comments

  1. You did good Lisa and I applaud your True Grit spirit.. you kept going till you got it right..

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  2. First, so jealous of the price! Nice work! And you stuck with it through all of the "fails" until you got what you wanted. Love It!

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  3. A fun makeover! Thanks for sharing, Laura

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  4. I totally have to try this. Love it! This is such an inspiring post. I would love it if you would share this wonderful post at our WIW linky party. Hope you can join us!

    Paula
    ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

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  5. What a great re-do! Definitely worth $1.50!

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  6. Your table is too cute! You're very creative! I'm your newest fan. Please stop by bellanest.blogspot.com any time. =0)

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  7. This turned out great...even if you did have to redo it several times! I would love for you to share this at "I Made This" at Grits & Giggles going on right now! http://www.gritsandgiggles.blogspot.com/2012/06/i-made-this-9.html

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  8. This looks great! I picked up a $2 table this week too, not quite sure what I'll do with it yet but I agree! Who could pass up a $2 table! I’d love it if you’d link up to TA-DA TUESDAY <3 from your newest follower I’d be delighted if you’d follow back!
    ~Misty
    413 Sparrow Lane

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  9. i love this table. i wish i could find great deals like this at my goodwills. beautiful job !

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  10. Very cute! And my parents are always telling me that I **shouldn't** paint wood. Drives me nuts! :)

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  11. After some trials I think it turned out perfect!!!
    Stopping by from the Strut Your Stuff party :-)

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  12. Does that drive you crazy when you have an idea for a project and it just doesn't flip your skirt at every step of the way? You sure did good in the end tho, your little table is very sophisticated for a cheapie score.
    You gotta love free paint huh?
    Oh yeah, tomorrow is another free day for paint at our Ace hardware. Going to request the same color we did the first time. We missed one of the giveaways but being sure not to this time. Want same color as walls run into other rooms. Will see how it goes on wall.
    It's way past time our walls were painted, been in our mfg. home for almost 6 yrs and I'm still waiting. Only rooms painted are the bathrooms. I'm tired of waiting so going to start in the living room and go into the hallway. I'll look forward to visiting your blog often.

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  13. What a great find, and great job painting it, it looks beautiful!

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  14. $1.50? You're kidding. I think your girls are going to enjoy that little table. Great find and nice finish. I am your newest follower. I hope you can visit me sometime :) I also would love for you to come and share this at my Linky party called Rustic Restorations Weekend.
    http://homespunhappenings-tammy.blogspot.com/2012/06/rustic-restorations-weekend-linky.html

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  15. I'm amazed at the price and the beautiful transformation. Good job...Connie

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  16. This looks so GREAT, I can't believe the price! Crossing my fingers you'll share at my party! Saturdays at Seven! XO, Aimee

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  17. Yes, by trial and error you finished it perfect. Love the little table.

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  18. We love the finished product!! The table looks so very cute! Thanks for sharing on our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday". Hope you come back next week. -The Sisters

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  19. Love it! Especially with the polka dots nice work!
    www.iheartpears.blogspot.com

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  20. Looks just perfect Lisa! Love the polka dotsm on it as well - adds such a fun touch!
    Thanks for linking up this week!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

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  21. I LOVE that you put your FAIL photos up...too FUNNY! LOL It's good to know that the extremely cute final product went through many iterations! LOL Hopping from a Pause on the Path. :)

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  22. Great makeover on the table. Perfect for a little girls room! You got a great table for that price!

    Blessings~
    Shar

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  23. Very cute and creative! Love it :-)

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  24. I think the final result is very pretty, and that you are super creative to have come up with so many different tabletop variations!

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  25. Beautiful! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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  26. So cute!! And for $1.50??? Thank you so much for sharing!

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  27. This turned out great! Thanks for showing your process too, it's nice to see that other people have a few misses sometimes too. The final piece was worth it, though. It's darling!!!

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  28. I love how the table has turned out - brilliant job!

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