Pretty country style coffee table.

 

I purchased this coffee table at a yard sale last fall. It was part of a package deal for $40 that contained a large quantity of painting and craft supplies from an artist who was downsizing.  I originally went for the supplies, but loved this table ... a lot... and could picture it after receiving a little TLC.  I had anticipated having to pay over $40 for all the paint... there was a ton of it, so I consider this table a real bargain.

Of course it was like everything else  I plan on doing.  It took forever for me to actually get to it.  KC kitty didn't care though. She likes everything the way it is.

Last weekend we had some lovely warm sunshine happening so it was time to drag this baby out to the deck and get busy.
I have such a lovely work space when the weather co-operates.
This picture is closer to the real colour .... it had an orangy tone to it I didn't like.

I spent about an hour with my palm sander and took the top down to some really aged wood.  It had some marker and coffee mug stains so I'm thrilled at how clean the top turned out. 

Once I wiped it down really well with a damp micro fibre cloth to remove all the dust I brought it into the kitchen and put it up on the island upside down. If you follow me at all you know I usually just paint all my pieces so this project is a little different for me.

First the legs and skirt got two coats of white DIY chalky paint.  I didn't bother sanding this part first because I knew there'd be no problem with this paint sticking.  It's what I use for a hard core primer.

I let the paint dry well over night and then the next morning I gave the top a good coat of Minwax stain in Provincial.  I love the colour of this stain.  It's richly dark but still lets all the grain show through.  Notice there is no orange tone. 

Once it was dry I finished the top with a coat of Minwax shellac.  It's what I had left over from a previous project and I always try to use up what I already have. 

I love how it turned out.  It's really beautiful with a golden glow, and all the dark areas really pop.  I loved this table right from the start, but now I'm head over heels.