Coffee Table Turned Bench

I forgot to take before pictures of the coffee table before it became a bench.  It was ugly and brown and the top was really beat up.  I got it for $9 on Craigslist, of course.  Here is the finished product in the guest room.

I first got the idea to do this project from www.muchtodowithnothing.com.  I came across her blog a long time ago while looking for bedskirt ideas and had been on the lookout for a cheap coffee table since.  Once I'd finished mine I looked up her blog again and can't believe how similar the tables are!  I really like the pleated slipcover and might make one of those too!

Here is how it looks with the bed.  Now I just need a headboard.

And notice the bedskirt - that's the one I copied from www.muchtodowithnothing.com.

Here is the picture I copied it from.  I didn't even realize until I was almost done sewing mine and went back to the picture to see how long I should make the pleats that I used the SAME FABRIC!  Just in a different color.  I found mine in the remnants section at Hancock Fabrics and liked it so I bought it without knowing what I would do with it.  

Updated Telephone Table

I found this telephone table on Craigslist and thought it would be great in our family room. It turned out not to work so I decided to redo it and put it in Margaret's room.

Here is how it looked when I got it.


This was my inspiration (from www.muchtodowithnothing.com).


A little sanding and priming...


Several coats of paint in "Ballet Slipper" pink...


And it's ready for Margaret to sit and chat in. In about 10 years.

First Success

This isn't the first piece of ugly furniture I've redone, but it's the first I'm really happy with. I can't believe how much I've learned about painting in the last three months. My first project was painting Missy's crib and I just bought latex paint and slapped it on. No sanding, no priming, no sealer. I didn't know why the paint wouldn't stick! Ahhh... such an amateur. Now that I think about it, I should probably redo the crib before Missy starts sleeping in it... Anway, here is a very ugly cabinet I found on Craiglist for $20. It's MDF with veneer - a combo that always makes me cringe. It was a good learning piece since I didn't really care if I ruined it.

My inspiration was this old cabinet from my parents garage that I repurposed to hold our TV. The distressing on this one is authentic! I love the color of blue with the wood showing on some parts.

So I mixed up off-white paint with some Disney's Bother Free Blue (the color I used on the crib). I started with a shellac-based primer because of the veneer. It sticks to anything, and you don't have to sand! Then painted my light bluish-green color on, distressed it, and covered with clear and then dark wax.