Retro Side Table Makeover from a Thrift Store

I am one of those people who browse thrift stores just to see what I find that might inspire a makeover.  This is how I came across this water damaged retro side table that most people would have passed over but I knew I could give it a second chance.

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Thrift stores are such great resources for used furniture and accessories.  But you have to admit that any piece you may find in a thrift store is far from perfect.  Most of them have lots of scratches, missing knobs, broken legs, and may even have the battle scars from someone else’s attempt at a DIY project.

 

 

I’m thinking this table was once used for a plant stand since the water damage was mostly on the sides of the two shelves of the table and the particle board underneath. It is obviously not an expensive table when it was brand new but I just loved the mid-century style flared legs and column supports between the two tiered surfaces.  At only $12 it was a great find for a furniture makeover.

 

 

 

Retro Side Table Makeover

For this project I used:

• Valspar Project Perfect Paint and Primer in Secluded Garden (from Lowe’s)
• Hand Made Modern Acrylic paint in New Penny (from Target)
• Deglosser product
• MinWax PolyAcrylic in semi-gloss
• Craft paint brushes
• Spray Adhesive

 

 

The first thing I did was to try and clean it up a bit.  I used a brush attachment for my vacuum to help remove a lot of the flaking particle wood underneath each shelf.  Particle board is made of wood fibers and glue so when it gets wet it basically falls apart.  Kitchen counter tops are a good example of particle board flaking apart around dishwashers and the sinks.  I also used a deglosser product on the tops and legs to remove any sheen left behind.

I experimented with spray adhesive to see if it would keep the flaky wood fibers from the water damage in place.

Since glue holds particle board fibers together I generously sprayed the bottom of each shelf with spray adhesive.  I couldn’t remove all of the water damage to the table but I was trying to prevent more fibers from coming lose.  Over time we will see how well that worked.  Then I took the table to my basement and applied two layers of spray paint.  I decided to use spray paint because I was sure rolling on paint would cause more damage to the table.

 

When I purchased the table I really didn’t have definite plans on how I wanted it to look after the makeover or where I was going to put it in the house.  I just knew I wanted to use the Metallic New Penny paint I found at Target a few months ago as an accent.  So I went to Lowe’s and just picked out the spray paint color I thought would look good on a retro table.  This color is actually more green than it appears in the photos.  My photos seem to pick up the blue in the color.  Either way it is a cute table.

 

 

Two coats of spray paint later and back in the craft room.  I then measured each leg an inch down from the bottom and taped it off to apply the metallic paint.

 

 

 

After all of the paint cured for 24 hours I applied two coats of MinWax PolyAcrylic in semi-gloss to the entire table.

 

My Mid-Century Love Seat needs a makeover now as well.

For now the table is a great fit next to my Mid-Century Love Seat in the corner of the master bedroom that is still desperately waiting for it’s own makeover.  I just love this little love seat and want it’s makeover to be perfect – which translates in to not doing anything to it yet.  We all have a piece like this I’m sure.  This little retro table definitely fits it’s style though.

 

Even though I couldn’t completely get rid of all of the water damage on this table, I could at least camouflage it a bit.

 

 

 

The addition of this little table to the corner of the master bedroom makes me realize I really need to update this entire room as well.  DIY projects never end around my house.

What are you working on these days?

If you liked this post check out these other furniture projects:

 

“Blessed be God! He has not turned away my prayer or turned His faithful love from me.”  Psalm 66:20