I got this chunky little side table on Marketplace for $10.   I liked how the table was the same on all four sides so there was no backside.  I loved the design on top and was hopeful I could bring it back to life!  As you can see, it had a lot of scratches, burns, nail polish, and graffiti all over it.  The name “Anna” was carved into the top and one of the sides.  Anna was hard on her furniture!  In my attempt to remove some of the burn marks and deeper scratches, I ended up sanding through the wood veneer on the top.  Darn it!  There went my dreams of restaining!

Since I was planning on painting the sides and legs of the table with Dixie Belle’s Mermaid Tail, I decided to go ahead and paint the top too.  Well, I hated that look!  Here is a peek at that fiasco 😬  When I’m working on projects I almost always have moments of panic when I think I have selected the absolute worst color possible and I have to remind myself to be patient!  It can always be repainted!

Hmm, what to do, what to do?  Next, I tried a technique I’ve used on a few pieces of my own furniture.  I went with a natural wood color latex paint with a gel stain on top of that to have the look of stained wood.  This time, I was using a darker stain and I read where you could apply a layer and then drag a dry brush through it to achieve a stained wood look.  I think I applied the stain too thick because it never would dry.  Two days later it still felt tacky to the touch.  While I was trying to decide what to do about that, one of my kitties decided to walk across the top, leaving little paw prints in the soft stain!  😑  Well, now what?  I decided to try wiping it with mineral spirits since it was still so soft, to see if I could at least remove some of the stain and hopefully the paw prints and then I could figure out the rest from there.  Strangely enough, after wiping it back with mineral spirits, I liked it just like that!  It had a distressed look that seemed fitting for what I had planned for the rest of the table.

I went with a Southwest color palette of turquoise, rust, and dark brown, highlighted with metallic bronze.

On the inverted side panels, to hide the scratches, I applied a raised stencil design, using a floral stencil and DAP spackle.  I painted the sides and top section of the legs with Mermaid Tail.  At first, it seemed pretty gaudy but I planned on applying a brown wax afterward that I hoped would tone it down.  I layered and distressed with acrylic craft paint in Burnt Sienna and Folk Art Home Decor chalk paint in Java, followed by a drybrush of Mermaid tail to blend it all together.

When that was dry, I used a dark wax by Waverly called Antique, brushed on and wiped off to age the paint from that bright turquoise to more of an aged teal.  It really toned it down and gave it the perfect look to go with the distressed tabletop.  I highlighted the raised floral design and some of the edges with Rustoleum metallic in Bronze Medal.

The bottom section of the legs got the same stain over latex as the tabletop and then sanded back to distress.  I used the Antique wax on the tabletop and the bottoms of the legs to help blend colors and provide a finish coat.  When the wax dried I buffed with a soft cloth.

I have always been a fan of distressed furniture but I know it isn’t for everyone, I’ve even started phasing it out in my own house.  I showed a guy at work a distressed table I painted and he told me it still looked like it needed to be painted!  😂😂😂  But some people really love the look and it sells easily for me so as long as there is a market for it I will keep doing it!

I enjoyed this project, it was fun trying some new techniques and taking this table from an ugly duckling to a useable piece of furniture again!

The succulent planter I used to stage this table is one I made for my own dining room table.   Someone gave me the old wood sectioned box a long time ago and I just painted it and added a drawer pull to the front.  I filled each section with floral foam and succulents I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  They ranged in price from $1.50 to 5.00 each.  I just love it!  And it already came in handy as a prop for staging this table!  The terra cotta jug and cup was a wedding gift back in the early ’90s.

Are you a fan of the distressed look?  Let me know what you think of Anna’s transformation.  Thanks for stopping by!

Here is a preview of an upcoming project, check back soon to see the flip: