I really love to create things. Like anything. Give it to me and I'll make something out of it. This month I decided it was time to get back to some other projects I had been wanting to do. Wedding season has been crazy as usual but I always find time to get back to me, my life, my family and creating.
We traveled out to Akron, OH this last Friday and watched my sweet little boy take 2nd place in Nationals at Akron BMX. It was pretty amazing to see him do something that he loves so much and be a part of his victory and enthusiasm.
We as artist have to look at life that way too. You have to be in a constant state of creativity in all mediums. And you have to LOVE what you do. If you don't it's work, and no one likes work.....
My little guy helping me out with the project.
I am always looking for fun, new and creative ideas to test out. This month I decided I needed some new furniture at the studio so I set out to make that happen. I bought a set of 3 wood tables off of Craigslist Buffalo, Ny for $55.
I literally set up shop this morning in my driveway at 11AM and finished around 5PM. So if your are starting this project make sure you have some time to throw into it.
They had already been painted a shiny white. I started off by giving all 3 tables a light sand using a Ryobi hand sander which you can purchase at your local hardware store for around $25-$30. I used a sand paper that had a grit of 120.
This handy dandy little tool was super easy to use. You can get different looks with it by pressing lighter or harder.
The smoothness or roughness will be determined by the grit you use with your sandpaper.
This project ended up costing me $55. That's it! I had all of my supplies sitting right downstairs in my basement which is awesome!
If you don't have all of the paints, brushes, tables and sanding equipment you will be looking at an initial investment of about $100-?. The price just depends on how much you spend on the actual coffee tables.
The paint I used was what we had used for my son's room. It was a custom blue/grey color.
I did a light, very light coat on the entire set of tables in the blue color. I had originally planned to keep the tables all blue. I changed my mind about the end tables, but you can do whatever floats your boat.
By doing this light sand you end up with a sort of distressed look. Because you have 2 colors the top coat will be lightly sanded off and the bottom color will show through.
After the paint dried, I did another light sanding on the top and sides.
The end result is pretty fun and gives it a really cool look. It's almost like it's an old piece of furniture that has been weathered and worn.
I always include my child in the projects I do. It's a fun learning experience for him and really gets his creative juices flowing. I let him paint the bottom of the table and he helped with the blue coat of paint.
I loved the blue but I started to feel like I wanted the blue to really stand out. I took a can of glossy black paint and did the legs of both of the end tables.
This really makes the top of the table stand out and creates a unique but uniform look for the set of 3 tables.
I love the contrast between the shiny black legs and the distressed top of the table!
I hop you enjoyed reading along with me today! This project was super fun and now I have some really awesome tables to accent the space I spend my time in while working.