I’ve had this little side table for over a year. I love its design, but the veneer on top was badly damaged and the legs a little wobbly. It was lost in a corner of our dining room with no particular function, except to display our exuberant Christmas Tree.
My plan has always been to refinish it to sell but I couldn’t decide on what color and style I wanted for it. The dark wood was not bringing up the beautiful details of the crisscross sides and lines on the legs.
Finally I brought it down to my garage and set myself a deadline to tackle it.
Lately I’ve been obsessed with the white and blue pattern I see on tiles, fabric and pottery everywhere I look . They are at the same time trendy and timeless because they look beautiful in any decor, be it traditional or modern, minimalist or bohemian.
I decided my little table would be inspired by that beautiful pattern.
My first challenge was to remove the veneer on top, which was beyond repair. I thought that would be an easy twenty-minute task, but in fact, it was excruciating work and it took a lot of time, muscles and online research until I finally won the battle against it.
Lucky you, because I ended up making this video showing what finally did the trick. Now you don’t have to go through the same torture I did when you have to remove veneer from an old piece. You are welcome.
And here is how I painted the table. This post contais a few affiliate links*.
1- After I removed the veneer and sanded the top down with an orbital sander, I cleaned the entire piece with soapy water, then a mixture of water and vinegar.
2- I primed it with Rust-Oleum primer spray, white, because I seriously suspected this dark wood be a bleeder.
3 – I brushed two coats of General Finishes Snow White using my favorite paintbrush at the moment. I kept my brush wet at all times to avoid brush strokes and it worked beautifully.
4 – Then came the fun part. To make the pattern, I plucked some pretty-shaped leaves from my backyard in different sizes and positioned them on the table top forming the ivy design I was going for.
5 – Next I brushed the back of each leaf with Country Chic Paint Midnight Blue and placed the leaf back on the table top, being careful to maintain the original design. After finishing the two tops, I turned the table sideways to work on the leaves around the leg.
6 – I let all the blue paint dry for about 30 minutes then carefully removed the leaves.
Watch the process on this video I posted on my Instagram.
7 – When all was dry, I sprayed three coats of General Finishes Top Coat satin, using my old friend Paint Sprayer.
A few more pictures for you. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Patricia.
(This table is for sale on my Etsy Shop )
*If you purchase a product using my affiliate link, I get a small commission from Amazon. There is no additional cost for you.
I’m sharing this project on these awesome link parties!
Absolutely lovely! For some odd reason, it reminds me of puppy-dog feet ran across a table. I l of all your work but love the uniqueness of this one in particular. The idea of using nature’s work on your project is amazing. The ideas you come up with are always simple and beautiful but so original! I don’t know how you come up with these ideas (I usually get mine right before or while I’m sleeping) but please keep sharing them. Your tutorials are always the best and I’ve followed them on several of my own projects, always with success because of you. You make it all look so easy, even when it’s nt. You also always seem to find a way, with your words, to make it seem as if a novice can follow them. I thank you for it all! I always get a huge smile when I see a new post in my email!
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You just made my day with your comment, Chris! Knowing that I’ve inspired someone with something I created is worth all the time I spend taking pictures, videos, writing and publishing my posts. Isn’t it funny that the ideas pop up in such unexpected moments? I also get a lot of them at night, or whenever I am far away from my workshop, doing something totally boring and unrelated to creativity.
I’m really grateful that you took the time to write such kind words. Let me know where you share your creations. I’d love to follow you too.
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I’ve never shown my work online. I’ve been told to by friends, family, and customers I’ve painted pieces for but have never been brave enough. My son even set up a blog for me to use but again, I’m too chicken! I really don’t have a good lace in my house to take pretty photos because the lighting is so bad (more excuses because I’m a chicken LOL) I’m very honored that you would be willing to follow me. I can say my work has turned out beautifully in most cases. My favorite piece is the ugly desk I re-did using the gray with black glaze technique you used on the French Provincial pieces.
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I understand your fear. I’ve been there too. Once you do it the first time it gets easier. Good pictures are important if you want to do it as a business. But you can do great ones just with your smart phone and good lighting. There is a group on Facebook that teaches you everything about it. Pictures, staging, prices… I love them. It is called Flipping Furniture for Profit Member Only. Check them out. There is a small fee to join but it is worth every cent. Good luck!
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Thank you for the support and information! I think I’ll check out that Facebook page. It sounds like exactly what I need! I’ve been hearing from everyone – friends, family, the few people I’ve custom painted for -that I should do more wide scale selling, advertising and that I should “share your beautiful art with everyone”. I definitely don’t see what I do as art or even as all that original even though I don’t just copy others work (just yours once and probably again. lol) but I have enough confidence now to know my work is good. Big step for me! No one else in my area paints or restores old furniture so the market is wide open if I can get the word out and it sounds as if this Facebook page may be just what I need in order to learn all the things I need to learn. Thank you again. Keep sharing your beautiful art with the rest of us because what you do is truly art! I can’t wait for your next piece!!
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Go for it Christie! You will see how far people like you have come when you join that group.
Best of luck!
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This is just lovely. And the video to show how to get the veneer is brilliant. I will remember this, I just never know when I’m going to need to remove veneer. Actually I’m going to pin as I never remember anything!! Thanks so much for suffering so we don’t have to 😀
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Thank you for your kind words, Julie! I’m happy to hear that the video helped. The process can be a real pain!
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Turned out beautiful!! Thanks for sharing with us at the To Grandma’s House we go link party!
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Thank you so much!
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Another beautiful piece, you do such great work and your tutorials are fun and informative. Thank you!
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Thank you, Melanie!
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I love your design Pat, and the bright pop of blue too. saving the video to my furniture tutorials on YouTube, I’ve got a large china cabinet i’ve been putting off for way to long because of the veneer! thanks for sharing your tips at #FridaysFurnitureFix !
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Thank you so much, Brenda! I’m glad the tutorial helped!
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Pat it seriously does not look like the same table at all! Not only does the white color make a huge difference but the beautify ivy details only serve to make it so extra special. I still cannot believe it’s the same table. Featuring it this week at Sweet Inspiration.
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It was a big transformation right?
I’m so happy it will be featured this week! Thank you so much!
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This is really pretty patricia! I didnt realise you could use leaves to stamp on furniture!!!
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Thank you Medina! I had seen some craft projects with leaves and thought it should work on wood too. I was right!
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Oh my gosh, that finish is amazing!! I’ve always been scared to take off the veneer, but I’ll have to give it a try! It’s a beautiful table 😀
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Thanks a lot Kim!
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Fabulous and creative. I love this project, very beautiful
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Thank you Ivory!
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