End Tables & Swiss Coffee

Over the years, Peter and I have accumulated free furniture that is good quality but all oak colored.  I am not a huge fan of oak but it's been free (or really cheap) and I haven't really had a space or the motivation to change it.  =)  After house hunting and realizing that we were moving to a new space, I was inspired to finally paint my oak end tables.  For some reason, the thought of a new place made me want to upgrade my furniture but there was no need to buy new stuff so I decided to attempt to be resourceful.    I grew up watching my parents do this a lot.  They were so good at buying cheaper things, putting in a lot of "elbow grease" and making them look so nice and "like new".   I have never really had the desire to do that myself but I think this is partially because we lived in apartments or our previous townhouse that just didn't have the space to work on projects.  My sister, Julia, on the other hand, is the queen of re-finishing furniture (and all sorts of DIY projects) that make her house look amazing on a dime.  She also quilts and sews a myriad of things as well as home-schools her 5 kids.  She does it all, folks and I don't know how she does it.  She does blog it all and you should totally check it out because she will inspire you (and she's starting a business out of it so you can buy her special home-goods!).  Her adorable blog is called myrainbootsarered.blogspot.com.

I started with 2 of these end tables that were given to us.

I had originally thought I wanted to paint them black because we had a dark brown couch and a few other dark brown/black pieces.  I am the type of person where I don't know what I like until I see it so I began pinning pictures on pinterest of living rooms and furniture that I liked.  Then, I went back through my pictures and noticed a strong theme for cream/white pieces, some pewter and charcoal accents, darker floors and good paint on the walls.  I knew I had liked black and white before, I just had my colors switched.  =)  I decided to definitely paint these end tables white.  Because we were moving in just a couple weeks, I knew that I needed to get it done now or I would be too busy with unpacking/settling in a new place.  I called Julia who explained the step by step process and exactly what I needed to purchase to do this.  Honestly, you really don't need much!

I purchased:  One 2 inch angled brush (Purdy brand), a small roller (with a couple extra heads), some sand paper in medium (I already had that nifty black tool that holds it for you - highly recommended btw).  A small pan (big enough to fit the roller - make sure you test that), a quart of primer and a quart of Swiss Coffee paint (Benjamin Moore brand).  Julia told me about the swiss coffee color and how it was exactly the right color of white - not too stark but not too yellow/creamy.  

I got to work right away in my garage.  First I laid down our tarp (didn't want to purchase a drop cloth).  Then I sanded the end tables just like they were (didn't take them apart).  I was surprised at how easy it was to sand them.  You really only have to rough them up.  I wasn't going to sand them but Julia explained that they would chip a lot faster - especially with kiddos running around - so I decided to put in the extra effort.  "You want to do it right or you will feel like you ruined your furniture."  A wise quote given to me and I decided to follow it. =)  After I sanded them, I wiped them down with a damp cloth and rolled a coat of primer over them.  I much prefer rolling paint to using a paint brush so I rolled everything I possibly could.

TIP:  Line your pan with tinfoil so that you can keep re-using it and it makes for a lot faster, easier clean up.  

This is what they looked like with one coat of primer.  I let it dry for about 60 minutes (can do 30-60 minutes depending) and then rolled my first coat of Swiss Coffee over them.  It was surprisingly easy.  

They were looking so good already and I was pleased!  At that point, I called it a day as I had to get out the door to see a house.

The next morning I woke early and was so excited to finish these guys that I was out in my garage at 6:30 am painting the last coat on.  Because they had been so easy, I decided to do my dining chairs as well.  

I have 4 of these chairs and have not liked the color for a while now but originally thought I would purchase new ones as my table didn't come with these chairs and it needed 6 total chairs, not 4.  But after doing my end tables I was on a roll and figured I might as well try these too.  I grabbed 2 and quickly sanded and primed them before Simon got up (thankfully he slept in til 8:30).

Later that day a friend stopped by (shout out, Jamie!) and helped me to get the other 2 sanded and primed PLUS my hope chest (at that point I was out of control and no oak furniture was safe in my house).

I managed to get the first coat of paint on the chairs and hope chest that day.  The next morning I again woke and decided to get the last coat on before Simon got up.  Peter was home and helped out with Simon for bout half an hour while I finished them.

I was so happy to be getting that last coat on and knowing it was all done!  That garage was freezing at 7 in the morning and my back and knees ached from painting.  I remember soaking my throbbing back in the bath and thinking to myself "Man, I hurt so badly but I'm so happy I did it!"

I wanted to wait for "after" pics until we moved into our new place because I knew they would look so much better in there!  Our new house has such beautiful floors that just make the chairs and end tables pop.

This chair on the right is not one of the 4 but is another one that I have so I used it as a "before and after" comparison.  What a difference, huh??  So amazing!

 As I said, I needed 6 chairs for my table so I purchased two end chairs at Target on clearance.  Get a load of these babies!

I really wanted to get some fun, patterned ones but I knew that was just not smart with a toddler around so I went with charcoal grey and I really do love it with the rest of the look.

I'll give you the best "before" picture I have of the table and chairs....try to ignore the cuties I was photographing and notice the table and chairs:

Pretty fun, huh?  I am so digging my end chairs (even if they aren't patterned).  =)

The end tables turned out wonderful too and I like them so much better now.

I wish I had taken a before picture of my hope chest but I didn't think about it until it was too late.  It also was oak colored which I hadn't minded a ton but now that it's white and antiqued looking, it has transformed!

After the hope chest dried, I attempted the antique look by taking some sand paper to it and roughing it up.  I didn't like how it just looked "dinged up" so I found some gel stain in Walnut color and stained the wood parts so that it looked a lot darker - more "on purpose" rather than cheap.  ;)  This is a wonderful trick that I will for sure be doing again!

Just these few changes have totally transformed our furniture and how our space looks.  It truly amazes me at what a difference it has made.  I like my stuff now and am so much more appreciative of it because of the work that I know that I put into it.  If you have been wondering about painting something or aren't happy with it I would encourage you to go for it!  It is seriously so rewarding and worth it (plus it's not as hard as it sounds and it's not expensive!).  Trust me, if I can do it then you certainly can!

If you have questions, feel free to check out Julia's blog and send her your questions!  She is a great resource and has tried just about everything out there.  =)

Good luck and happy re-finishing!

XOXO

Joy