My Grandmother's Table

Easy
This vintage table belonged to my grandmother.
Before you freak out about me painting it hot pink (that's right--I said hot pink!) let me just say that my grandmother was a talented decorator. Her home was always beautiful and always changing as she tried out new looks. If she were still alive, she would probably have her own HGTV show already--and she would have told me to paint the table 10 minutes before the current painted furniture trend began. She was always ahead of new decorating trends like that.
So don't freak out because I don't feel guilty about painting this table one bit! It is better to update it and enjoy it than to have it languish in the basement because it doesn't match my current decor.
Here's the before picture. I started with a base coat of American Paint Company's "Bordello", a scandalous hot pink color. APC paint is all-natural clay chalk and mineral paint. With no harmful chemicals, I can paint right on my kitchen counter. There was no need to sand or strip or prime this table--I just dusted it off and the paint stuck to it beautifully.
You may be wondering why I chose hot pink. Here is my inspiration...
This vintage lamp also belonged to my grandmother and was one of my favorites when I was a little girl. The crystals always reminded me of earrings! I chose hot pink as the base coat to match the pink flowers on the vase. I chose American Paint Company's "Born on the 4th" a deep, dark blue for the second color on top.


After the blue dried, I rubbed a damp cloth over the table to reveal the pink underneath. This technique is called wet distressing and works nicely with American Paint Company paint or any paint that has chalk as one of the ingredients. I prefer this method to sandpaper distressing because it doesn't stir up all that dust so I can do in my kitchen without making a mess.
Here are close-up shots of the legs and the edge of the table. It looks dramatic in these photos taken outside in the sunshine. However, in my living room, the hot pink actually looks subtle.
I had originally created pink streaks on the tabletop too, but decided it was too much so I repainted blue just on the tabletop and left the pink around the edges. When I was satisfied with how the entire table looked, I sealed it with American Paint Company's Clear Wax.
Here's the finished table! My next step is to replace my airport print with a pretty mirror to reflect the lamp. I just need to find the right mirror--and decide if I should paint it hot pink/blue to match the table and lamp ... or go with white to match the chairs.


What do you think?
Please check out our blog www.AllThingsNewAgain.net for more painting projects, home decor and DIY tutorials. Thank you!
Courtney @ All Things New Again
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 52 comments
  • Theresa Tumlin Carter Theresa Tumlin Carter on Oct 05, 2014
    The table turned out beautiful! I love the look.
  • Robin Wiley Robin Wiley on Jun 10, 2018

    I can see a thick decorative gold frame mirror there. It would go with gold in the lamp. You could always look for a picture frame and replace picture with a mirror. I see more pictures with those kind of frames than mirrors.

Next