Little French Table

I love country french furniture. I found this table on a local yard sale page. When I showed up there were two of these tables. Why I didn’t end up buying both of them is still beyond me. That was dumb. The lady selling them told me this big long story about how they were from Germany (who really knows). One of the tables was a little off balanced so I took the one that stood firm on all four legs. I know I should have bought them both, but I didn’t (it still keeps me up at night, haha).

Surprise, I didn’t use chalk paint OR spray paint. I just busted out some good ole latex paint and went to town with a paint brush. I had some white latex paint laying around and I didn’t want to have to buy anything. I’m not sure what the color was but it wasn’t a bright white.It was a creamy yellow white. I didn’t prime the table first. I was going to sand and distress the table anyway to have some black and wood show through. I did put on two coats of paint. I was surprised the brush marks didn’t show up more. I do think it is important to invest in a nice paint brush. If you take care of it; then it will last forever. After each use rinse the brush out well and form the bristles back to the way they go.

After both coats of paint had dried for 24 hours; it was time to distress. Distress is a fancy word for using sand paper to let the wood or the base layer show through. I just randomly pick places and edges to sand. Once I got it all distressed, I put a quick coat of polyurethane on to seal it. 

Now, this table has two beautiful beveled glass pieces that fit into it. I obviously took those out while I was painting. Once the poly was all dry I bought it back into the house and used it as a coffee table. I am sad to say that I cracked a corner of the glass that fits into the table. Moral of the story; do not be lazy. I was using the table as a ladder to change the light bulb in the living room. Well, there my new little table was just underneath the light, in the perfect spot. I thought I could just quickly step on top of it and not put weight on the glass, only the outer wood. Well , when you change a light bulb, it is hard to keep your balance. I stepped slightly onto the glass and cracked a small part ;(. I still love my little yard sale table. I am now always careful and use a ladder to change light bulbs.