Flea Market Fixer Challenge: Side Table Reveal

Remember my hunt for the perfect piece of furniture to make over, from a couple of weeks ago?

Well, it’s all painted and ready to go, for the final reveal, and it’s looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.

In case you don’t quite remember what this is all about, here’s a quick recap…Last month, I participated in the Valspar Flea Market Fixer Challenge, to find an awesome piece of furniture to makeover for my home. I drove around town hunting for a piece that was screaming for a makeover and ended up finding a small(ish) side table that I thought would be a great fit. See more photos from my flea market trip here.

The simple shape mixed with a cool detail at the legs sold me. And I took it home to give it a couple of coats of chalky finish paint from Valspar’s newest line. It just launched this month – find it at your nearest Lowe’s.

Here’s how you can give a piece of furniture a face lift with a few items…

Materials:

To makeover this table, I used Valspar’s chalky finish paint in Woolen Stockings, which is a really pretty grey color. Highly recommend that one! It’s one of my faves. I also experimented with a vintage satin finish (which I ended up nixing – more on that later), so I used sealing wax as well, along with a paint brush and a lint-free rag.

How To:

1. There is no priming or sanding necessary with this particular kind of paint, which is awesome (a time saver and budget-friendly), but you will want to wipe down your furniture first, so that it’s free of dirt and debris.

2. Grab your paint (I bought a quart for this project and ended up using about 1/5 of the can, if that) and a paint brush and get to painting. I did one solid coat on the top, sides, and legs.

3. Then let it dry for 4 hours before tackling the underside with a coat of paint.

4. Flip the table back over and do a second coat on the top, sides, and legs. Let it dry according to the label, which is about 4 hours.

4. Once the paint has had ample time to dry, apply the sealing wax with a paint brush and let that sit for 1-2 minutes before removing any excess with a lint-free rag. Apply in small sections, brushing on a thin, even coat, before removing excess.

5. Let the table dry overnight and you’re good to go.

Now, this is the part where I went a little off the rails and repainted the table to have a flat matte finish. I liked the satin finish just fine, but once I figured out where it was going to go, I knew I had to change it. Probably should have figured that out ahead of time, right? Whoops.

I had initially thought this table would either land in our bedroom as a nightstand or as a plant stand in another part of the house. Well, I was wrong because once I finished it, I realized that it was almost the exact same color as a concrete wall nook that we have downstairs. So bata bing bata boom…I now have a mini seating area / reading nook instead.

As a refresher, here is my inspiration board that I shared in the last post…

And here’s how the finished piece turned out…

I love, love, love the monochromatic look happening between the wall and the side table.

Because I chose a pretty subdued / neutral color, it works well to have the color blend into the wall, and the matte finish of the wall was the number one reason I decided to repaint the side table sans the satin finish. The flat finish works really well with the space and doesn’t compete with the texture of the wall.

It’s kind of a tight space, so I couldn’t get back very far for photos, but hopefully you can get an idea of the vibe of this little landing area / nook.

Aaannd…in case you’re wondering, I found that Nakashima-esque chair at a local antique store (Highland Row Antiques, if you’re in ATL) for a steal. It’s my new favorite chair. You know I have a chair addiction, right?

Concept, photography, and styling by Brittni Mehlhoff

Alright. So that’s the makeover in a nutshell. What do you think? Do you like the monochromatic color? Would love to hear your thoughts.

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