September 2, 2012

My DIY: updated occasional table.

This poor little occasional table had its block knocked right off when we moved, but Steve did some wood shop magic and put everything back to rights – better than it had been even.

But I was dissatisfied with how it looked and despite Steve’s complaints that I paint too many things white, decided it was time to freshen this old piece up.  As you can see, it has a red leather centre on the top, and the wood on that piece was actually not that great. I decided against fiddling with the leather, choosing instead to use the red as the accent.

I cleaned it up and masked off the centre piece.

Now let the painting begin! It’s several coats of white gloss spray. Do the underside first, and only when it’s done and very very dry,  flip and do the main part. Use thin coats, apply in a broad sweeping motion and avoid the temptation to put too much on at once. Patience is the key, grasshopper.  Pick a nice sunny day and you can let it sit for at least an hour between each thin coat. This took about 4 coats and three Pimms.

There’s the white done.

I choose a bright red for the edge and carefully applied a few coats of this with a brush. I then mixed a bit of black with the red. These are artists acrylics and will go on fairly transparent The black and red gently mixed gave a nice irregularity to the colour that match the grain of the red leather.  Here’s the result!

What’s that you say? Bar Area #3 in your living room? Yes it is. You see, Bar Area #1 is for the regular items. Bar Area #2 is Steve’s whisky table, and this tiny little addition, Bar Area #3, is for small bottles that have traveled a long way with us or to us. The tall ones at the back are Marsala we brought back from Marsala, and Plum Mistelle from Quebec (which a friend has left here for future reference). The green bottles are two types of pistachio liqueur brought by us from Sicily, there’s a small bottle of Polish vodka Steve picked up in Warsaw, and finally, in the front, is a some homemade Raki from a friend’s Greek father.

So there we have it: an occasional table fit for an occasion.