Giving an Old Table New Life

MaryStLouis
by MaryStLouis
Medium
I bought a beat up tea table from an antique shop and spent some time refinishing it. This project took longer than I thought it would, in part because I changed the paint color midway through.
Before and After...such a difference a little love and a lot of elbow grease can make. I used General Finishes Red Mahogany Gel Stain on the beautiful parquet top, then protected it with several coats of General Finishes High Performance topcoat in a Satin finish.
Before - Walnut parquet top
After cleaning the top, I sanded it and applied a coat of gel stain. However, the next day I noticed that the stain had milky areas so I did some research and found that Pledge and other polishes like it impart chemicals that soak into the wood and can then bleed through new stains, even my trusty gel stain. I ended up chemically stripping the entire top with a citrus-based stripper before staining it again.
These old walnut legs had seen better days.
I cleaned the legs and decided to paint them. I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in Aubusson Blue, then decided that it was too dark. I added two coats of General Finishes milk paint in Persian Blue, allowing the deeper blue to show through in the recesses. Because the piece is not used for anything except display I decided not to use a topcoat and it's been fine.


I used General Finishes Red Mahogany Gel Stain on the beautiful parquet top, then protected it with several coats of General Finishes High Performance topcoat in a Satin finish.
In its new home
The lighting was not stellar, but it seems happy here at the top of the stairwell.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
  • Lee Lee on May 26, 2018

    Hi-love your table. I’m new to the chalk paint scene and have an oak parquet table I want to stain the top on and paint. Do I sand the top first or will that mess up the parquet? I’ve attached photos. Thanks for advice, I’m nervous but excited to try.

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 14 comments
  • Sherrie Sherrie on Dec 24, 2014
    Love how this turned out!
  • Chuckles Chuckles on Feb 10, 2015
    General Finishes Milk Paint is AMAZING! I love that it is already premixed and ready to go... Which makes mixing custom colors so easy! Maybe something to keep in mind :) Its also really durable compared to traditional milk paints/chalk paints and does not necessarily require a top coat, which I also LOVE. Not to mention, it goes on like butter!!! I could go on for days about how much I love their products, but I won't... :) - PS... I love your choice to use a red hue on the table top, lovely!!
    • MaryStLouis MaryStLouis on Feb 10, 2015
      @Chuckles Thank you! I'm a big fan of GF products and have been using them almost exclusively since I started refinishing. :)
Next