Continuing the obsession

Once I got the entertainment center dresser done - I was on a roll and feeling great. I had always wanted a skinny side table for the living room, but never had managed to pull it off. So the next day, on a whim, I went back to Craigslist and searched for the perfect table. Within minutes I had found exactly what I was looking for, and it was only $35!!! Score!

My neighbor let me borrow her SUV so I could go pick it up. The wood was even more stunning in person, and once I got it home, I wrestled with whether or not to paint it. It was perfect as it was, but I really wanted my furniture to match. I played with the idea of stripping it and just staining it the darkest stain I could find, but the desire to have matching pieces won out and I decided to use my leftover paint from the dresser on it.

Primed and ready

I washed and primed it as before, and once that was dry, I set to work. I immediately began to panic because the paint wasn't adhering like it had on the dresser. I wondered if I should have stripped it anyways to get rid of the gloss - but since I hadn't needed to do that on the dresser, I had decided to forgo it again here. I was petrified that I had just made a huge mess and ruined that beautiful wood in the process. I even found myself wondering if I should have spray painted this one - with all the nooks and crannies - painting it was a huge pain - there were so many small parts I kept missing.

I decided to do as I had done before and walk away from it for a little bit. When I came back to it a couple days later - I decided to give it one more coat to see if the paint would stick better. Lo and behold it did - and it looked great. It was still a huge pain to paint - all those nooks had to be gotten with a delicate hand, but I discovered some tricks that made it go much more smoothly. After it dried I applied a few coats of spray poly and let it cure.

The after shot

It was done just in time for me to get it all situated before heading to the airport to pick up my hubby from the airport - all done with his commercial fishing for the summer. I was so excited to show him our "new" living room.

Before and after shot

Our new living room - all together!

Every time I go into my "new" living room, I see those two pieces and I'm filled with pride. I did that, without my hubby's help. I absolutely adore how it all turned out.

I'd like to turn my attention to our dining room table set next, (it's a pine color) but the hubby is currently saying no. I think he thinks he's be dragged into helping. I think I'd stain the table and chairs though instead of painting them. I'm not sure paint would hold up well, even with poly coats, and this way they would coordinate but not necessarily be match-ey match-ey . I'll try to wear him down.