There’s no place like home: a side table makeover

I’m slowly learning to take chances in my house, to be original with my ideas, to explore possibilities and to do what I like, not just what is expected or “normal”.  Sometimes I take chances and I get it right.  Other times, I take chances and I don’t quite get it  right and it becomes a work in progress.  But when it comes down to it, I am the one that lives here and I look at my stuff every day.  I want to look around my house and see the things that I love, things I have invested myself in, things that are unique to our family.  I am inspired by beauty.  It fills me with joy.  It even brings rest and peace to my heart and soul.  I want my home to be a haven for our family and a place that is warm and welcoming to others.  

There was nothing wrong with my side tables.  They’re fairly new, just a few years old.  But I was bored with them.  They’re just mass produced side tables.  I’m sure you can find them in homes across the country (or anywhere there is an Ashley furniture store nearby).  If you have these tables, I apologize and I don’t mean to knock your tables, like I said, there’s nothing wrong with them, I like their basic shape, I was just wanting a change of scenery in our house.  I am also tired of the black and I’m slowly trying to move away from a house full of dark furniture.  I want my house to feel lighter and airier and a little bit eclectic.  But even though my tastes are changing, I can’t just go out and buy all new furniture, now can I?  (I can just hear Tim screaming “NO!”.)

Our living room with the side tables:

So lately, I’ve really been inspired by reading other people’s blogs.  I especially love reading blogs about taking an old or boring piece of furniture (or really any item for that matter, even an entire house) and refurbishing it into a unique and fun piece that adds interest and a touch of your own personality to your home.

And since I had no real love or attachment to my side tables, I decided they would be a good place to explore my refurbishing abilities.  I figured the worst thing that could happen would be that I would fail miserably and then I would just have to paint them back to all black (because I promised Tim before I started this project that no matter what happened, I would not be buying new side tables). 

The before picture:

It was a definitely a trial by error process and I learned a few things along the way.  I sanded, painted (the primer was mixed in with the paint), distressed, glazed (never did that before), dry brushed some areas to cover up the parts I thought were too dark from the glaze, distressed and sanded some more.  I just worked until it seemed done to me.

And I ended up with this

I’m really happy with the final product.  I love it a gazillion times more than the black.  Here’s a close up.  I switched out the old blah silver knob with these black and white flower knobs from Anthropologie.  I think it adds a really fun, slightly quirky, and definitely more interesting touch to my table.  In fact, it wasn’t until I screwed the knob in that I actually fell in love with my newly painted, distressed table.  Up until that point, I wasn’t so sure about it.  But the knob was the finishing touch that tied it all together for me. 

I’m almost done with the second table and I can’t wait to get it back in my living room. 

Here’s a final look….. the before and after!

What do you think?!!