Another Thrift Store Coffee Table Makeover

Thrift store makeovers are one of my favorites. It is exciting to take something dated, worn, or just ugly and give it new life and one of a kind personality for your home. This is one of those types of makeovers where I took a very plain and very black round coffee table and gave it a fun and quirky bright yellow makeover.

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For months I was on the hunt for not one, but two new coffee tables for my home. One for our living room and a second one for our newly renovated family room at the front of the house. Each room has a different style and decor. The living room is a relaxed family gathering room with multiple reclining sofas and is all about comfort. The front room – as we call it – has a more whimsical modern style with mid century furniture mixed with rustic details like the large stone fireplace. The room just needed something just as bright and whimsical in a coffee table too.

I love updating furniture. There is just something about taking a piece that has been well loved (aka worn out) and giving it a new look and purpose.

Sometimes you just want to remake something in a new color just for fun, and I have been looking for the perfect piece to paint bright yellow for a while. When I found this coffee table in a local thrift store for only $30, I immediately imagined it in either a bright yellow or even orange. Yellow won out for me.

This coffee table started out as a very low round black table.

As with a lot of the projects I decide to do, I let this table sit around the house for a few weeks. I moved it from room to room to see where it could work “as is” and imagined it in several different colors.

The table is very squatty and low to the ground. The black color just makes it sink into the floor and disappear. It is not eye-catching or exciting. It is just a low black table with no personality.

Honestly, this table could have looked fabulous with just some cleaning up and paint touch-ups. In the right sitting of course. And yes, I have heard a few complaints that I dared to change it from black to yellow. If the table had been a beautiful wood with fantastic lines and details, I wouldn’t have painted over it. But it was not, and for my home I wanted a bright yellow table and so I finally made the decision that yellow was the color choice for me either way.

Thrift Store Coffee Table Makeover

For this project you will need:

The first thing I needed to do was clean up the table and remove the top sheen. I used a deglosser product on the finish and gave it a light sanding to get the paint to stick. I decided to use chalk paint on this table because it would stick easily to the existing finish either way.

The color I chose was Maize from Waverly Chalk Paint.

Sometimes it is just fun to add bright color to your decor and enjoy it.

If you have ever worked with chalk paint before, you know that it goes on so much easier using the right tools and a little patience. However, chalk paint saves time in removing the old finish and lots of sanding so it is still a good choice when updating an old piece of furniture.

Applying chalk paint takes several layers of paint and then sometimes several layers of a wax top coat. In the end I had to apply four layers of chalk paint, the first being some leftover ivory chalk paint I used as a base coat, and then three layers of the yellow.

The whole table got two coats of clear wax with buffing in between.

I could have repainted this adorable squatty black coffee table in many different colors. White is an obvious choice for so many furniture makeovers. A soft baby blue would have worked and may be the next choice if I ever decide to update this piece again one day. Gray is always a great color because gray has become such a great neutral color.

This bright yellow just gives the once black wood paneled room some energy and new life.

The now bright yellow table combined with my new mid-century style chairs from Wayfair, which have two rows of bright colored buttons along the back that coordinate so well with the color of the table and accessories turned out to be a great combination.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

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Comments

Kim~madeinaday says

2018-02-05 at 7:22 pm

Hard to believe that is the same table! Love the pop of the yellow. Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Hope to see ya next week!
Kim

- Donna says
  
  2018-02-07 at 9:51 am
  
  Thanks for visiting Kim. I really like this table too.
  
DIY Home Sweet Home says

2018-02-04 at 11:30 am

Yellow is my favorite color! Love the makeover. It’ looks amazing.

Teresa says

2018-01-30 at 9:06 am

Lovely. Great color too. Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned!

Brenda Young says

2017-09-15 at 2:44 pm

I Love how you incorporated pops of bright color in the room from the chair buttons tying everything together, such fun happy color choices! Thanks for sharing your project at #fridaysfurniturefix itals a pleasure having you!

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-15 at 8:00 pm
  
  Thanks for visiting Brenda
  
Colleen says

2017-09-13 at 3:10 pm

Thrift store makeovers are my favorite! I love the yellow in this space and the way you pulled it from the buttons on the chairs. It looks so pretty! #HomeMattersParty !

Colleen
Life on Kaydeross Creek

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-13 at 7:49 pm
  
  Thanks Colleen
  
Wendy Robbins says

2017-09-13 at 12:40 pm

The yellow really pops on the blue rug! Nice job!

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-13 at 7:50 pm
  
  Thanks Wendy. Unfortunately, my dog has chewed a few holes in this rug while I was at work so now I have to find a replacement. I will be sure to look for another blue one.
  
Jess says

2017-09-13 at 10:53 am

This is so cute! 🙂

I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-13 at 7:50 pm
  
  Thanks Jess. I will do that.
  
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says

2017-09-13 at 8:15 am

Love the table and the color! How fun!! I’ve yet to try chalk paint (gasp!) but anxious to try as “regular” paint doesn’t always hold up, esp. with kids in the mix. Visiting from Grandma’s House party.

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-13 at 7:51 pm
  
  Thanks for visiting Victoria. Chalk paint does take some getting used to but I am starting to love it.
  
Emily @DomesticDeadline.com says

2017-09-12 at 7:29 am

Love the bright color. The buttons on the chairs in different colors are awesome! #HomeMAttersParty

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-12 at 8:33 am
  
  Thanks Emily. I really like that detail on the chairs too.
  
Sheena says

2017-09-11 at 6:21 pm

I love your table!! Hopefully if enough of you lovely ladies redo your tables I’ll finally have the courage to do mine!! #HomeMattersParty

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-11 at 8:22 pm
  
  Thanks Sheena. Whenever you get your table done I can’t wait to see it.
  
michelle james (@ourcraftymom) says

2017-09-10 at 10:23 am

This is such a great makeover Donna!! Thanks so much for cohosting #homemattersparty

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-10 at 7:54 pm
  
  Thanks Michelle
  
Nicole says

2017-09-09 at 10:42 am

I used to have a table that was a twin to this one! We had to leave it behind when we moved years ago – I sure wish I had it now. It would be perfect for a makeover like this. I love the bright color, yellow is so cheery! So glad I saw your post at the #HomeMattersParty link up this week!

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-09 at 7:35 pm
  
  I felt lucky when I found this one too. It was a fun makeover. Thanks for visiting.
  
sahana says

2017-09-08 at 3:14 pm

Nice pop of yellow, compliments well with the blue rug. Bright and cheerful. #HomeMattersParty.

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-08 at 7:00 pm
  
  Thanks Sahana. But unfortunately that blue rug will not be in the final reveal of the room. My sweet girl dog Pippin has been cooped up and bored lately and has chewed three holes in that rug in the last week. I’m very thankful that I didn’t spend full price for it and it can possibly be used in another room that can hide the holes. Life with rescue dogs…
  
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai says

2017-09-08 at 1:02 am

Cute table. I love the yellow, it’s so cheerful. Thanks for sharing at the#HomeMattersParty 🙂

~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai

- Donna says
  
  2017-09-08 at 7:01 pm
  
  Thanks Lorelai. First thing I have ever painted in yellow and I do have to say I really like it.