This dark and dated end table came from Craigslist for $10. I thought there was a pair of them, but the second table was totally different. I guess I got too excited when I saw the sale listing, and didn’t look at all the pictures! The second table may or may not end up getting painted. It has a lot of damage, and the design isn’t my favorite. It could end up in our backyard burn pile, depending on whether my husband/fix-it guy decides it’s worth saving.
The door panels and sides had that bead board detail, which is a dream for the farmhouse style I usually lean toward. It also had that swirly hardware I thought would pop against a white finish.
White was my first and only color choice for this table because I knew a distressed farmhouse finish would be adorable on this piece. Pure white is not the easiest color to paint, especially not over a vintage dark finish. You can run into bleed-through, which is when the dark stain keeps bleeding up through your paint no matter how many coats you do. To avoid that, I primed with a stain-blocking primer.
I followed that up with two coats of Dixie Belle Cotton chalk mineral paint. For distressing, I used 60 grit sand paper and a sanding block. I concentrated on the edges, and the grooves in the bead board to really accent it. I also gently sanded all over with 220 grit sand paper to ensure it was all smooth. While Dixie Belle paint doesn’t require a top coat, when I distress, I always like to use one to protect those exposed areas. For this piece, I used Dixie Belle Easy PeasyTM Clear Matte Spray Wax. This wax IS actually the easy peasiest wax in the world to use. You just spray it on, wait a few seconds, and buff it in with a microfiber cloth. A matte finish is a great choice for this look, since an authentically aged finish is usually not shiny. Then the cute hardware got spray painted oil-rubbed bronze and re-installed. And voila!
Just as I finished posting this one for sale, a friend texted me and asked if she could stop by and see it. She needed a little media cabinet for their DVD player and cable box.
She loved it, and took it home that day. A quick and happy ending for this story!
