A Diamond in the Rough

For Jen's party at SanctuaryArts I decided to share my new work/desk table.

It is in my 'make do' craft room!

Jen was an inspiration for me to even try this:)

It was in the refinishing phase for almost three months:-)

These are pictures of the metamorphosis the table went through.

First a coat of black paint,

crackle, white paint,

crackle some more, a walnut stain from Michaels you rub in and then I finished it with a water proof Varathane durable shine...

I really liked it even after just painting the top black!

The crackle was fun to use. My sister showed me if I put a heavy coat of crackle and paint on it will do some crazy things.

It did not disappoint us as all sorts of shapes showed up!

We still have a perfect shaped shoe. Some I didn't care for and so in the large sort of boot shape on the table I actually sanded the table down to the original table top three times:-) It went from a large snake serpent, to the state of Idaho and finally a large boot. And I was trying to get it smaller:)

Oh well, I decided that the third time had to be a charm and whatever it turned out to be, it was staying! It turned out better than I could imagine! I never knew I could do this... It was so fun to be creative in that realm, I am ready to start another project as soon as I have time! I have had people tell me while I was in the process of finishing the table, they had seen tables like this sell for thousands of dollars in Ethan Allen and other quality furniture stores... Who knew?

This was our first real dining room table we ever bought. My husband was ready to send the table and chairs to Good Will or find someone who could use it. I quickly could envision it's place still at our home. THANK GOODNESS!
The finish really looks almost like a leather top. It is quite rich looking. Sorry, I wasn't able to capture the look with my camera.

A cute memory happened when it was turned upside down and the legs were removed for spray painting.

I found cute little purple hearts our daughter, Natalie at Home Sweet Hideaway drew with a color crayon probably on a bored afternoon while laying under the table day dreaming, when she was around 8 years old:-) I kept it as cherished part of this treasure.

For more furniture makeovers please visit our wonderful and fun host Jen at Sanctuary Arts at Home.