A more accurate name for this post would be a “Makeover of a Makeover Side Table”, but that just didn’t seem as appealing.
When we first bought our house, I was super excited to decorate it and make it look the way I imagined it in my head. Then the check for our down payment cleared, and I realized that my dreams of instant transformation were just that… dreams.
So we did what any other young couple does when they move into a new home and don’t have enough furniture to fill it. We accepted whatever items our friends and family were willing to part with. Which usually meant we ended up with the stuff that nobody wanted anymore. But hey… it’s free.
My original little side table was one of those items. I honestly can’t even remember who gave it to us. Probably my mother. She pawned a lot of stuff on us when she and my dad moved out of our childhood home.
The table was made out of particle wood and covered with a thin sheet of wood-colored something. I don’t even have a picture of it. It wasn’t ugly, just boring. So I decided to just paint the whole thing black to match our TV stand. It was a lazy move. I didn’t prime it or anything. I just painted two layers of black paint on it and went about my business.
A year later, I decided to change it up again.
By then we’d saved enough money to install new hardwood floors and give the house a good professional paint job. With everything looking fresh, my furniture started to look blah.
Since we moved everything out of the first floor for the installation, most of our stuff was in the garage. I decided that the only things that were allowed back in the house were the items that looked the way I wanted them to look for the foreseeable future. Most of our old furniture just wasn’t going to make the cut. So I planned makeovers!
Why buy new furniture when you have functional furniture that was given to you for FREE??? All it needed was some paint, wood stain, and a little love and affection. That is how my side table got its second makeover.
Since the table was not real wood, there was really no way for me to showcase any natural wood colors without adding something to the table. So that’s what I did. I measured the top of the table and cut out four pieces from pallet planks that would fit right on top of the current table with a one inch hang over each side. (Check out this post if you want a super easy way to dismantle a pallet)
I stained the pallet planks with a walnut wood stain that matched the stain I used on our coffee table. I let those dry for a few hours while I painted the table.
Since the table was black, and I wanted to paint it white, I knew I was going to need several layers. I decided to spray the layers on since it was such a small piece. I used a spray primer and did two layers.
Once the paint was dry, I placed the pallet wood face down on the garage floor and flipped the table onto the wood. I lined it up correctly and drilled holes in the bottom of the table where I was going to put the screws. I did one screw on each side of each of the planks… 8 total. Once I drilled the screws through the holes, I flipped the table over.
I applied a layer of polyurethane to the wood planks and let it dry for a few hours. Then I applied a second coat and let that one dry overnight.
The next day, I gave the table one last look, decided that it passed the test, and brought it in for placement. I was very pleased with the results. SUCCESS!
Materials List:
Small Table
Pallet Wood
Wood Screws (8)
Paint Brush
Drill
If you like this makeover, check out the other two furniture makeovers I did using the same basic methods. I’m really big on white paint and wood stains (if you couldn’t tell).
IKEA Dining Room Table Makeover
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