This now revamped table is where my family eats meals together every night.

Where I feed 3 STARVING high schoolers and one 1st grader every day for school lunch.

This table is where we read and do homework after school.

Where we play the Scooby-Doo board game… while always eating homemade cake, of course.

 

My Family’s Table

 

When I first laid my eyes on this table… it had cob webs in all the crevices.  It was dusty and laying in the corner of a shed screaming for some LOVE.

This table did get some attention from the previous owner.  My husband’s friend had taken it all apart and did all the hard work already:  sanded it!  (I refuse to sand wood…I just prefer to “prime”… with a spray can!)  I was so happy he offered to let me take it home!  I was beyond ecstatic!

I had BIG plans for this sexy beast…just didn’t come to me  for about 3 months later.  I pondered about what color I was wanting it to be.  Wondered if I would distress it in any way.  And, figuring out how to make it so the top of the table was food-proof.  I didn’t want to use stain.  It had a leaf to put in, to extend the table length.  I didn’t need the leaf.  My goal was to keep a small (intimate) table for my family.  So I tossed the leaf.  And focused on my family’s sweet table.

I finally came up with the idea of (spray) painting it all the color Atlantic Almond.

 But then, it so needed something on the top for character.  I figured since it already had a center line down the middle, (because of the missing leaf)… I’d use it as a guide and paint a design.  I decided to hand paint the Fleur de lis.  (The Lily flower, in french.)

You can easily use a pencil so you can erase any mistakes.  When I got it to where I liked it… and it looked as even as I could make it.  I outlined the design with a marker.  I used craft paint to color in the design.  It then looked too sharp and needed some shading to soften the dark brown color with the almond color.  So, I happened to have some of this laying around.

I dabbed some dark brown antiquing glaze with a dry cloth.  Starting where you want it to be the darkest.  Then working your way out.  Have a clean, dry cloth to dab the excess with your other hand.  The glaze gives you plenty of time to work and shadow your way to where you want it.

I added some more character to the lip/border of the table top with 2″ large distressed decorative nails.

Since these nail heads are 2″, I spaced them far enough apart to where they didn’t crowd each other.  Or, be too far apart.

My final touch was having  glass cut to fit the dimensions exactly for the table top.  I measured from one edge to the other to where I wanted it to fit exactly.  (The cost was $60.)  It would protect the paint from all of the daily activities with using this table.  I placed glass table top rubber pads under four points of the glass.  This allows the glass to sit off the surface and stay put.

My total cost for this project was about $130 — Glass, nail heads and paint…table itself was given to me.

Have you thought of redoing a piece of furniture?  AND, putting your own personality onto it …making it a piece of your own?  That’s what so fun about doing things like this!

**My DIY Painted Table is linked up to party with {I Gotta Create!} & {From Dream To Reality} & {Six Sisters’ Stuff} & {Your Homebased Mom} & {I Heat Naptime} & {If It’s Not Baroque Design Blog} & {Funky Junk Interiors}

 

This Fleur De Lis designed table was featured with:

Architecture Design Blog