A hand-me-down table got a new, old look with kelly green paint and distressing.
I love having friends who think of me for their furniture castoffs. I am the designated collector of junk, after all.
Recently my friend, Megan, passed along this little vanity that her daughter no longer used.
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While I have no need for a vanity (let’s just say I’m pretty low maintenance), I did have a need for a small desk at the lake cottage.
Although I really don’t want people working there, I know there will be times someone needs to do homework or send an email. So I decided this piece would become the designated work spot.
And while it was cute with its glossy mint green paint, it wasn’t exactly the look I needed. I felt that a distressed painted finish in a vintage kelly green color was the direction we needed to go.
The Vintage Table Makeover
I started by stripping the gloss paint off with this low-odor paint stripper. Within thirty minutes most of the paint on top was bubbled and ready ready to come right off.
The paint scraped off very easily on the top, but on the legs it was as if the paint stripper had started to freeze!
I brought the table inside and wiped it down with mineral spirits to get the remaining paint stripper off, and then I took the table to the garage to sand it.
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Since I wanted a vintage look, I wasn’t concerned about removing all of the paint. I didn’t expect the table legs to look so awful though! They were definitely paint-grade wood and not meant to be stripped and re-stained.
Oops.
Oh well. I carried on and found the most perfect shade of vintage kelly green chalk paint at Michaels.
I applied a coat with a round paintbrush and then used my orbital sander with 220-grit sandpaper to remove some of that first coat of paint.
I took off a little too much paint, so I dry brushed on another coat of green. Once I that second coat of paint dried, I applied a thin layer of clear wax to the table to help protect the new paint job.
This wax isn’t my favorite furniture wax, but it’s pretty good. I like to use it when I’m working indoors because it has no odor at all.
I then added new hardware to the drawer (it was actually the hardware from a 1927 window in our old home), and blue gingham cardstock to line the drawer.
The Vintage-Look Green Painted Table
This newly-made over desk or table fit perfectly in front of the window in one of the cottage bedrooms.
The distressing on the finish is just what this piece needed.
And the kelly green reminds me of a color you’d see used in an old cabin. I think it’s so charming!
I love how it turned out and I’m thankful it was the perfect size for this cozy cottage bedroom.
What do you think of it’s new look? Can it pass for an old table?