How to Do an Easy Side Table Makeover Using Colorful Paint

I have this side table, plant stand, end table… whatever you want to call it. She’s got some beautiful mid-century lines, but there’s just one problem: she’s so boring. So, we’re going to do a quick and simple side table makeover by giving her a pop of color and a lick of paint.

Keep reading for some creative painted side table ideas.

1. Clean the side table

She’s a bit of a mess, so we’re going to clean her up first.

2. Sand

My plan is to stain the side table legs a little darker, so I need to sand them down. I’m starting with a 120, then I’ll go over them again with a 220. Wipe down with a damp rag once you’re done sanding.

3. Stain

Next, we’re hitting her with a pre-stain wood conditioner. This just helps the stain set into the legs a little bit more. Of course, this is the exact moment Baguette decides to check out what I’m doing. Remove cat as needed.

Now it’s time to hit the wood with my favorite bronzer, Minwax Special Walnut. Wipe down before leaving it to dry. It dries a little light, so I did two coats.

After letting the stain dry overnight, I went in with a clear top coat of water-based polyurethane.

4. Paint the side table

I've been feeling drawn to bold colors lately, so I wanted to create something colorful and vibrant. To kickstart the project, I chose a favorite power color of mine, a stunning teal shade called Acapulco Cliffs by PPG Paints.

The side table surface is technically cardboard and it has some water damage. To restore smoothness, I’m applying two thick coats of latex paint, as sanding would cause it to disintegrate.

5. Draw & paint the design

After days of contemplation, I finally came up with a concept for the painted side table: an atomic pop art-inspired circular molecular design. Does that qualify as science? The busy pattern will cleverly hide any texturized inconsistencies.

To create this, I drew a cross-section on the tabletop, then drew around a glass to get the circle shapes.

To connect the circles, I freehanded some lines between the shapes.

Then, it’s time to fill in the circles. I mixed my teal and white together to get a lighter shade of blue. I painted the circles with two coats.

For the inner circles, I’m drawing around items I have in my house: a face powder, a mini cocktail shaker, and a stick of blush.

This created a perfect Target-like pattern, and then I painted the inner concentric circles white and the original teal. I could have chosen a less complicated pattern and I could have kept it as it was with opaque circles, but I wanted to make my life harder and do a lot of things by hand.

6. Spray with acrylic sealer

Once all the paint has dried, apply a coat of acrylic sealer.