I loved the style but not the color. I knew it could be really handy having that shelf on the bottom as well.

First things first... You have to clean. I found this new product (to me that is) by Krud Kutter that actually has a deglosser in it as well. Win-Win. After I cleaned it with a rag I let it dry for 10 minutes.

Ready to paint! I used one of my favorite paints by Retique It called Ivory Tower. It's the perfect off white. To save time.. I went ahead and used their new two-in-one paint called Ultratique. So no need to seal.

After my paint was dry I applied a coat of weathered wood gel water-based stain. I put a little on my rag and dragged it straight across. I didn't rub it in or try to make the lines disappear as well.

Here you can see even though it was a gray based stain it took on a light grayish-brown tone when applied over the paint. I let each layer dry thoroughly before applying more stain.

After my first coat of stain was completely dry I applied the black walnut water-based gel Stain in the same way. Making sure to keep my lines pretty straight.

Here you can see the difference with the Driftwood underneath the coat of black walnut. I made sure that I didn't cover everything perfectly. The imperfections is what makes it look good. If you wanted to add more layers you can..just make sure each coat is dry thoroughly before you apply another or it will pull the stain back off.

I sealed the top with Retique It water-based polyacrylic. Two thin coats is all it needed.

Here it is! What a big difference from the before picture right? I love that I was able to do this whole project in just one day. No oil-based stains that needed to dry for 24 hours. Yay! 🎉