The country coffee table

I finished a project today and was inspired to post it.  So, while I intended to post my projects in the order that I've completed them, I've decided instead to post when I'm motivated and I'll catch up on the others when I feel up to it :)

I purchased this coffee table from my favorite online garage sale, craigslist. I don't remember exactly but I think I paid $10-15 for it.

Again, I forgot to take a before pic until I had already started sanding, but you get the idea.

It was a very common find - the maple wood finish. It was real wood, so I had no problem sanding down the top.  When I first picked this up I imagined a dark wood stained top and either a white or a black painted base.  I had never stained anything before, and for $10 I thought, no big deal if I mess this up. So, I started sanding.

The top was pretty easy, but I learned when I began applying the stain that you have to sand it ALL the way down.  Don't leave that one little section that looks like it still has even the smallest amount of stain left.  What I found out was that the new stain won't hold at all in that section - it just kind of beads up. If you look real close you can see a spot or two that wasn't quite all the way sanded (they look just a little oranger than the rest).

I purchased a dark stain (ebony). I read the direction on the can. Apply....Wait 10-20 seconds.....Wipe off. OMG!!!! It was sooooooo dark.  I tried again on another section and realized wiping on and then immediately wiping off looked much better. I wish I had taken a picture at this point, but I think I was so bummed that I completely forgot.

I decided to sand it down again and start over.  About half way through re-sanding I was ready to set it out by the curb and move on to the next project.

I gave it a couple days and started again.  As the sanding went on I found something I really liked.

I was loving the uneven tones. It looked rustic and had so much character.   I wasn't sure what to do at this point. I loved the different tones, but didn't want it that light.  So, on one corner I tried another stain, and on another side  I put on a coat of clear wax.

Here you can see the side on the top was stained with 'provencial' and the side on the right has Annie Sloan Clear Wax.  I like this picture because you can really see the difference the clear wax makes on natural wood.  I sanded the stain off, again (ugh!).

I still wanted it a little darker, though, so I added the Annie Sloan Dark Wax on top of the clear wax.

Here you can really see the difference the dark wax makes.  I had already applied the clear wax over the entire top. Then I went over with the dark wax. I learned that you don't need very much of the wax to get a beautiful finish.

Now for the base.  My BF had picked up Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Florence to paint the inside of our entryway bench (I told you I was going out of order - I'll get that posted too :)) I loved the color and thought it would look great on the base of this table.

I thought it looked great at this point, I love the bright teal look.  But that fresh, clean paint seemed to not look quite right against the varied colored, aged looking wood top.  That made me decide to try out the Annie Sloan Dark Wax on top of the Florence.

When I first applied it, I thought it was waaay too dark and didn't like the look at all.  So, following the tips from Annie Sloan's video tutorials, I used clear wax to wipe off some of the dark wax. I, again, loved what turned out.

The bright Florence peaked out and the dark wax settled nicely into all the grooves from the brush marks and the old dings and dents.

So, this $10 table that I bought to practice on, turned out to be my new fave! (I think I say that after I finish each project!)

The surprising part for me on this one is that although I made a lot of mistakes (that's not the surprising part :), in correcting them I found something truly unique and ended up loving it!

 

After finishing this project this morning, I had to go pick up my next.   I picked up a full bed (headboard and footboard) from my new friend Heather, http://thelittleredcouch.com/http://thelittleredcouch.com/.

I can't wait to get started on it!