Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Taking Away the Blues....French Bistro Table Makeover

We picked up this table at an auction a while back. Good sturdy table with nice detailing on the legs. I also picked up this VERY blue paint at Home Depot....Darn you Home Depot for making colors look WAY different in your light! Anyways, I painted this table the previously mentioned blue. And boy was it blue! So, sadly enough, I had to makeover a table that I had already made over! Oh well, you live and you learn! The table had a nice flat, rounded top, perfect for some detail work!

First, I painted the table gray.

I really wanted the table to have that French Bistro feel, so I decided to paint the top just like a sign right out of a bistro in Paris. I stenciled the letters, then went back over them with a paint brush for a more hand-painted look. I also added some decorative designs to enhance the look. 
 

I also added a design to the middle of the bottom shelf.




Once the lettering was done, I distressed the whole table using 100 grit paper around the edges and 150 grit paper over the whole table, including the lettering. Once the table was distressed, I rubbed a charcoal gray over the whole table. When using stain as an aging technique, I like to rub a heavy coat over a part of the table, let sit for a minute, then wipe it back off. This leaves just the right amount of stain behind.
Here is the finished product. I love it! Looks like it came right out of a French Bistro!




Happy Painting Everyone!








12 comments:

  1. Just gorgeous. I am totally jealous of your talent (and your table). :-)

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  2. OMGosh, I love your table. It turned out great. I love anything French/Paris/etc Ü Love your blog background.

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  3. Beautiful!
    I have a 3-tier table similar to this that is an ugly chocolate brown--you gave me some ideas-thanks!
    I turned my basement into a cafe', that my table re-do would look good in: (http://goodbyehousehellohome.blogspot.com/2010/03/basement-kitchen-to-french-cafe.html)
    I found your blog over at Rory's place :)
    Thank you for the tutorial and pictures of this darling table!
    Love it!
    Blessings to you as you make your home!
    ~me

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  4. What a great idea to dress up a plain little table. I love it!

    If you could add an archives list to access your past posts that would be very helpful. I am a new follower.

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  5. Love it! And I like an option other than vinyl for the writing. Great job. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

    Warmly, Michelle

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  6. That was a good idea to paint over the stenciling.

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