Mapped End Table

Well, I finished the last of the three end tables. And I can’t even tell you how much I LOVE it. I’m obsessed. For real. It’s awesome. And it started out well on its way to being a total FAIL. There were a lot of roadblocks on this one – but I can’t wait to tell you about this wild and crazy ride of the boring end table-turned-my favorite table EVER…

I’m swooning over here. 😉

This is what the table looked like before…

I’ve had this table forever. Ok, not forever, but a good 7 years. Purchased at Target, nothing special, just a typical end table. I knew it was not going to work in this state, not in my pretty new family room;). But I was a little stumped at what to do to it. I had the green table on the other side of the couch, and the white table on the other side of the loveseat. So I didn’t want it to match either of them, yet at the same time, didn’t want 3 entirely different tables. They had to sort of mesh with one another.

So naturally I mixed up some paint and plaster. Isn’t that what I always do?! I figured I’d go white, and figure out something fun for the door. It was just screaming at me to get funky with it. Chalkboard it? Nah. Paint it a different color? Nah. Chevron it? Yes!

In typical ‘Queen of Winging It’ (aka ‘impatient and most likely waaaay imperfect’) Liz fashion, I just started drawing a chevron pattern on the door with a pencil. I grabbed a book from the shelf that seemed small enough to work with and went to town…

SO professional, right?! Then I mixed some tan paint from brown and white craft bottles I had, and filled in the pattern and the border.

Lovin’ the sippy cup on top. Yup. That’s how we roll around this joint.

I finished it, took a good look at it, and decided to take it outside to distress. Again, winging this whole thang, no joke, from beginning to end. ‘Cuz I’m wild like that.

Here’s where the project took a major turn – for some reason – I’m kinda thinking it’s because I didn’t add enough Plaster of Paris to the paint – the sides distressed beautifully, but the white on top started peeling off when I sanded it?!! NEVER has this happened before. I was kinda bummed, thinking I’d have to peel it all off and start over, when lo and behold, the BEST. THING. EVER. happened: while I was sanding/peeling the white paint off the top, a gorgeous, rustic look started happening, and the top was stunning. I decided to just go with it and I can’t even tell you how happy I am the white paint was peeling off!!

So to recap so far: I was left with a distressed/white painted bottom, rustic wood top, and chevron pattern on the door. Still with me?

Please excuse the picture I took in the DARK? (What blogger does that?! Geesh. Rookie mistake). But here’s what it looked like that night…

HATED. IT.

Looks like I told my 3 year old to go paint a zig zag pattern on Mommy’s table. See, Liz, THIS is why you should not rush, and I don’t know, maybe get some painter’s tape out, maybe use a template!?

Oy. I’ll never learn.

So the next day I got to thinking…and thinking…A-HA! Maps. That was the key to saving this table.

I had bought some map scrapbook paper at Michaels not long ago. I love maps, so I grabbed a couple sheets. It’s not totally a map – it’s kinda got random words and things going here, there, and everywhere – perfect for this door. So I brushed some Mod Podge on the back of the paper, then went over the front, and the rest is history.

 

It is seamless. Looks like the door came with that map on there – it’s amazing! I can’t believe it.

And are you loving that top?! I think it makes it 100% better than had I left it white.

 

 

And the knob, which I had never really even noticed before, looks awesome now, against the white! Crazy!

So that’s the scoop on the table that took quite a detour.

And I’m so happy it did!

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