Paper Paint and Pine: end tables makeover

Funny story...years ago when my husband and I first bought our house we used his bachelor pad furniture in our living room. Now, his furniture was nice for a bachelor but it just didn't go along with the style of the house or the decorating plans I had. So, one day he walked in after work and the only thing that was left in the living room were two end tables. He tells everyone he knew nothing about me getting rid of his furniture but I will deny that every time because we had discussed it (Selective Hearing at work I'd say) It's one of his favorite stories to tell and we've certainly shared many laughs over it.

Well, imagine his excitement when I decided to paint his last bachelor pad furniture! The two end tables had seen better days but still had a lot of life left so I decided to update them and do a little repair to the base to make them a bit sturdier.

The bottoms of the tables were "sagging" so my dad and I used Home Depot Measuring Sticks cut to fit the bottom as a reinforcement. I used Krylon Almond Spray Paint in Satin Finish. After the paint was dry I then sanded the tables in spots so it had more of a shabby chic look. I then bought 2 place mats that matched the feel I was going for and used spray adhesive to attach them to the bottoms of the tables and then we did the repair to the bottoms with the yard stick. All said and done they have a whole new look and I love them but even better so does my husband!

• • • shabby chic

• The end tables were just a basic wood frame with a wicker bottom that needed an update

• I removed the bottom insert on each table and sanded the entire table

• I used Krylon Spray Paint in Almond

• Painted each table with the spray paint and let it dry completely

• Once the tables had dried completely I used a fine grit sanding block and started sanding it in a variety of areas on the table giving it a shabby chic look

• Well, would you look at that the sanding even brought out the "kid" to help! That doesn't happen too often but something about "ruining" the table after the hard work of painting it was appealing to him.

• For the bottom insert on the tables I purchased a place mat that worked with the paint color and was the perfect size of the insert

• I used spray adhesive on both the place mat and the insert to guarantee a great hold

• I then recruited my dad to help me make the bottom really secure by reattaching the original wood pieces on the bottom and then added a piece of a yard stick across the center to make the bottom sturdier. Worked like a charm!