I few weeks ago I was walking through one of my favorite thrift stores by myself (my parents had the kids), and in my usual fashion hit up the dishes first and eventually made my way back to the furniture section.

I came upon this cute little “bookcase.” I looked it over and it seemed to be solid wood and good quality.

It could make a cute bookshelf for the kids, I thought, so I took the tag off to claim it and kept walking.

I went and down a few more rows of furniture and saw a nice little cabinet. I really didn’t have any use for a little cabinet like that, however, and kept walking.

Now a few minutes later, something clicked in my brain – perhaps a gentle nudge from the Lord who knew I’d been searching for something for a certain corner of the house for about 2 years – but I had a definite “wait a second” moment.

I raced back to the cabinet and pulled out the little measuring tape I keep in my purse. I took a measurement of the top and raced over to the “bookshelf” and measured it. Yes, it was indeed possible that they went together. I picked up that heavy, solid wood shelf and lugged it down the aisle over to the cabinet. Then, as gracefully as possible in such circumstances, using my knee as a prop halfway up, I heaved that thing onto the cabinet and stood back to examine.

Yes, I was convinced they were one piece.

I put the hutch back down on the ground and happily went through the rest of the store, both furniture tags in hand. I didn’t quite know where I’d put it, and figured my husband wouldn’t be thrilled I was bringing home more furniture, but I would find a place!

As it turns out, this little corner was just right for it. I really like it next to the piano.

Plus, it has the storage I was looking for to store family board games! This is real life – I thought it would be silly to reorganize the cabinet just to take this picture.

They were priced separately, placed rows apart, and were almost separated forever.

But now they’re together in the little corner of my living room, holding some of my ironstone collection.

Yay for a happy ending!

Tell me about a favorite thrift store find that you’ve had in the comments below!

Blessings,

Melissa

If you’ve been around here awhile, you may know I’m not the biggest fan of sewing – I can do it, but I avoid it when possible. Many of you have told me you don’t enjoy it either. Thus I like to come up with ways of making things that get good results but don’t require sewing. I hope you enjoy this little tutorial I’ve put together!

~ Supplies ~

1 Square Pillow Form (mine is 16 inches)

Fabric: I used a thrifted bed sheet! You will need 2 squares, each 8 inches larger than your pillow form in both directions. Example: For a 16″ pillow case I needed two pieces each 24″x24″

Linen (or similar off-white material): Whatever size you want for your “embroidered” panel

Fabric Scissors

Measuring Tape

Pencil

Fine tip permanent marker, black

Hot glue (for no-sew) OR needle & thread (for sewing option)

Optional: straight pins

“God bless our native land;
Firm may she ever stand Through storm and night.
When the wild tempests rave, Ruler of wind and wave,
Do Thou our country save By Thy great might.”

~ Tutorial ~

1. Trim off any existing seam from your fabric edges as it will be too bulky to use (I used a thrifted bed sheet, so this was necessary).

2. Cut your fabric to size. You will need 2 squares, each 8″ larger than your pillow form in both directions (for a 16″x16″ pillow form you will need two squares each 24″x24″)

3. Place the two squares one on top of the other. You will be cutting slits 4″ deep every 1 inch around the whole perimeter. To do this, measure 1″ in from the side and 4″ up from the bottom. Cut a slit up to that mark. Because my fabric was a grid pattern, I simply took note of which line was 4″ up from the bottom and always cut to that point. If your fabric doesn’t have a consistent pattern, take a measuring tape or ruler and mark off 4″ up every 1″ over from the next slit.

4. Continue doing this around the whole square. The corners will naturally get cut off when you turn to the next side. Just keep going consistently every 1″ over (and 4″ up from the bottom) – the corners will form themselves as you cut away some strips you’ve already made. Once all your strips are cut, it should look like this:

5. Line up the two squares with the fabric right side out. Take opposing strips from each square – and tie them together in a double knot. Continue doing this around the square until you have just one side open. (Sorry this is such a terrible photo – it was on my lap while I was watching tv and I didn’t want to get up, ha!)

6. Insert your pillow form into the opening. Finish tying to close up the cover.

7. Trim your linen (or other fabric) to the size you wish your panel to be. Mine was a little over 9″ wide by a little over 8″ tall.

8. Pencil in your phrase or design. (This is hard to see – sorry.)

9. Working with a light hand, use the fine tip permanent marker to trace the words/design with even dashes to mimic the look of stitching. Let dry completely!

10. You can either hot-glue the corners of your panel to the pillow for a no-sew option, or use a needle and thread to barely stitch the corners to the front of your pillow, like I did (pictured).

That’s it!

I hope you enjoy this little project! I’d love to know if you try it and how you decorate yours! Tag me on social media (@hymnsandhome) or leave a comment below!

Our entryway has been a long time coming – and I’m not sure it’s actually finished yet, but it’s to a point that I feel pretty good about it and it makes me actually smile instead of cringe when I look over there!

Here’s how it looked before our renovation in all its 1960s glory, complete with chipping tile and wood slat screens:

After our major renovation period of replacing / refinishing floors and trim, painting, ripping down walls, changing light fixtures, etc., it looked more like this:

Fast forward 3 years – yes, it took me 3 years to decorate this space – and I’ve made a few changes! It’s amazing how appropriately sized furniture and rugs can actually make a space seem bigger!

I’ll share and link all the sources for this space below!

The only thing I’d still consider doing to this space would be to add some textural interest through board and batten or some sort of woodwork as a feature wall. Wallpaper is out of the question – my husband has declared he will never EVER have wallpaper in his house, so board & batten could be a happy compromise!

Sources:

Table: Amazon
Mirror: Hearth & Hand by Target
Rug: Boutique Rugs
Moravian Star Fixture: Amazon
Basket: Homegoods
Flowers: Target
Lamp: Homegoods
Bird Cage: Hobby Lobby
Plant Pot: Homegoods

Be sure to check out Instagram or Pinterest for my tips on styling a bird cage!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

I used baking soda to transform some outdated Goodwill lamps! I’ll show you just how easy it was…

But for just a moment, let’s travel back in time about 3 years – we were finally finished renovating our kitchen and my previous dining room buffet lamps now clashed with our new kitchen wall color (we combined the two rooms). I decided to use them in our living room since we had no lamps in there:

So for the next 3 years I had buffet lamps on my living room end tables. Not just buffet lamps, but permanently crooked buffet lamps since my son miraculously managed to knock one off the table twice and bent the entire frame without shattering the glass.

Every time I looked at those lamps I cringed, but hey, they worked.

A few weeks ago I decided it was finally time for a change. I began scouring thrift stores for a pair of lamps that would be a good size and shape, even if the finish was less than ideal. I finally stumbled upon these at $6 apiece:

I was inspired to create textured lamps as I was cleaning my oven a few weeks ago. Haha, yes, my oven… I was using a baking soda paste to clean and loved how smooth and moldable it felt – I thought why not make faux pottery with something similar?!

Supplies

• Baking Soda (amount depends on the size of your project – see below)
• White School Glue
• White Acrylic Paint (or other color if you want it tinted)
• Water
• Measuring cup & spoon
• Disposable container for mixing (I used a clean old yogurt container)
• Spoon for mixing
• Spray paint or antiquing glaze ( I used Rustoleum Chalked Smoked Glaze)
• Foam Brush

Instructions

Make sure you test your lamps to ensure they work! I forgot to do this before I started, but thankfully they worked fine! Whew…

First I cleaned the lamps well with a damp rag – you can use a cleaning solution like Simple Green if you’d like. Obviously, do all of this with the lamps unplugged, please…

Next, I removed the harp at the top (the part that holds the shade) and sprayed it with the smoked glaze. Then I sprayed the shiny brass parts on the lamps with the same glaze. I liked using this somewhat translucent glaze instead of opaque paint as it left it still looking like metal. The smoked glaze on top of the shiny brass created an aged oil-rubbed bronze look.

If the lamp’s cord is an ugly color, you could spray at least the top part (the part that will be visible coming off the back of the table). Don’t spray down near the plug, please!

Once that was completely dry (I waited overnight), I made up this paste:

Recipe

Per Batch:
1 cup baking soda
~ 3 Tbsp school glue
~ 2 Tbsp water
~ 2 tsp acrylic paint

Mix it all together – it should form a moldable dough that is slightly crumbly if you rub it between your fingers. If it’s too crumbly, add a little more glue. You don’t want it to be too wet or it will cling to your fingers, slide off your project, and probably take forever to harden!

For reference, I made about 5 batches per lamp (they are large lamps). I recommend only making one or two batches at a time, though, as it will dry out pretty quickly as you’re working.

Instructions continued…

Starting at the top of each lamp, I pressed the dough on in little sections, connecting each blob to the previous. You can decide how smooth (or not) you want yours to be – I wanted mine to have definite texture, so I purposely left ridges and dents.

As long as you’re joining new blobs to the previous ones, it should stick just fine. I had no problems with mine sliding down. If you do have that issue, it may be too wet – add a little more baking soda. If it’s crumbling apart too much, add more glue to the mixture.

Once I had covered both lamps, I let them dry and harden 24 hours or more. They should not be wet or soft to the touch at all. In fact, they will be quite hard when they are ready!

Finally, I sprayed some of that same smoked glaze into a disposable cup and used a foam brush to lightly brush all over the textured part of the lamps. Don’t try to make it uniform – just have fun with it. My lamps actually look quite different from one another but that’s okay. They’re unique handmade pieces, right?

Let the paint dry completely and off-gass outside!

Finishing Touches

I found these lamps shades at Target to top them off.

All done! I’m so happy to have “real” living room lamps now and bonus! – my husband likes them too!

Is this a project you would try? Let me know in a comment below! Thanks for reading!

Have you ever had a piece of furniture or decor that had special meaning – perhaps a family heirloom or an item given to you by a loved one – but it just didn’t work in your space?

That was our coffee table situation.

My husband’s grandfather was a skilled and proficient furniture builder. He built not only this coffee table, but many pieces we use in our house – my husband’s desk, dresser, nightstand, a cabinet in our bedroom, and a shelf in my daughter’s room. Many other pieces reside in family members’ homes; among them are a dining hutch, various cabinets, and side tables. I am seriously amazed at how much furniture he was able to make!

I liked our coffee table – it had an interesting shape, a useful little drawer for holding coasters, and most of all the rich family history. Of course, my little boy beat the snot out of it as a toddler (what, coffee tables don’t have snot?), but I think great-grandpa would have appreciated that his table was being enjoyed by future generations.

[This was the only decent photo I could find with the old coffee table in it!]

That being said, I couldn’t get past the fact that it looked dwarfed in our living room. It simply looked lost between the couch and chair, atop a large rug. Also due to its small size, it was easily moved around by a certain little boy who nearly tipped it over a few times (thankfully baby wasn’t in the way!). A larger coffee table would also provide room for both decorations and beverages.

Thankfully, my husband was on board with the idea. I felt really guilty asking him if we could please NOT use his grandfather’s table, but being the sensible man he is, he let me have my way. Haha, just kidding – he agreed it was too small for the space.

It took several months of scouring Facebook Marketplace before I found the right fit. When I saw this Ethan Allen table, I was drawn to the slatted boards, elegant detailing, and the fact that it has a shelf.

It had definite potential, but was in pretty rough shape! (I guess my husband didn’t photograph the part of the tabletop with red marker or ink all over it…bummer!)

We went the used route because kids are rough. on. furniture. No matter how much you teach them to be gentle and respectful of belongings, they’re children and stuff happens. So we didn’t really want to invest in something brand new.

Besides, it’s fun to transform a piece…at least I think so.

“Okay, Melissa, quit rambling and show us the pics!“

*Ahem, yes, of course*

My husband is in charge of all sanding and staining endeavors in our house. He has experience and I’m happy not to mess with it. I paint stuff.

He removed the top, sanded it down, and actually had to give it a new edge with his router. I mean, look how rough the edges of this table were!

He then stained it with Minwax Jacobean and sealed it with polyurethane.

I painted the bottom with Rustoleum Chalked in Linen White – same as my church pew. It took 3 coats to sufficiently cover.

I even had a sweet helper

In case you’re wondering, this was what it looked like after one coat. He helped paint the second coat, and I painted the third coat by myself later on. I like to let my little guy help whenever I can – it’s good mommy-son bonding time while baby girl is sleeping, it teaches him a skill, and it’s a fun activity. He actually does a really good job!

Voila!

(For the record, anything breakable or tearable that you see in this photo is not usually there!)

We’re so happy with how it turned out AND no one has successfully moved it yet.

Only two days until Christmas!

I’ve been excited but also a little frazzled this season because I finished gift shopping and wrapping much later than I usually do! I’m not so sure wrapping far in advance would’ve done me much good this year anyway, though – we’ve had to block off the tree with a baby gate because baby girl is determined to pull off every ornament and strand of ribbon that she can. She also likes to tear up paper and eat it, so one can imagine what she would do to wrapped gifts…

Side note – one time during a trip to Target, I was trying to keep her happy, so I let her see a stuffed animal as we walked around the store. By the time we got to the checkout I realized she had eaten a piece of the cardboard tag!! Mom fail. I felt it was only right to purchase the toy at that point [insert face palm here]. Thankfully it was one of those dollar spot items!

Seeing as Christmas is upon us, I’d thought I’d share a few glimpses of Christmas decor around our house. I don’t decorate every single room – I simply don’t have the time and resources for that. I pretty much keep it to our main living spaces.

A little greenery over the window, some wreaths on the cabinets, and a few Christmasy touches on the counters…Found that fresh greenery at Trader Joe’s for only $7.99! (You can find the curtain tutorial here.)

Wreaths – World Market
Greenery – Trader Joe’s
Sign – Michael’s
Rug – HomeGoods

My little tiered-tray winter village… Back when I was pregnant with my first child, I would come home from work every day around Christmastime and work on making these little pine cone people. (That was back when my evenings were so carefree! Ha!) I made about 20 total, and gave them as gifts in groups of 3 to family members.

I found inspiration for these on Pinterest, but didn’t follow any kind of pattern – I just made my own little pattern on paper and went from there! I love making homemade gifts – anything from crafts to fresh bread from the bread maker! I’d love to hear about any homemade gifts you make! Leave me a comment below!

Tiered tray – Marshall’s
Houses – Hobby Lobby

I love how red pops against this white pew. It’s going to be hard to beat that vibrant, cheery contrast once Christmas is over! And doesn’t that green vintage ladder lend itself to star ornaments? I found that 20-ft fresh greenery also at Trader Joe’s for only $9.99(!) and topped it with some dried oranges and homemade salt dough hearts. Instant cozy.

Big wreath – World Market
Baskets & little houses – Joann Fabric
Pew Paint – Rustoleum “Chalked” in Linen White
Striped Blanket – Michael’s
Pillows – HomeGoods
Wall Color – “Urban Raincoat” by Behr
Curtain fabric – by Lush Fabric (curtain tutorial here)

Our dining area sideboard… This decor is extra special, as those wood slices under the houses came from our beloved tree we had to have taken down back in August. We were so sorry to see the tree go – it was big, beautiful, and original to the house, but we were at least able to preserve its memory in this way.

Flocked Trees – At Home Stores
Sign, Runner, Large House, & Beaded Garland – Hobby Lobby
Small Houses – World Market
Bottle Brush Trees – Pier1

Have you ever watched “Christmas in Connecticut?” It’s a great classic Christmas movie and I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t! Well, the main character, Elizabeth Reed, is a writer who has a home-making column in the newspaper. She is extremely popular for her stories about her farm, all her fancy recipes, and so on. The only problem? She doesn’t have a farm and she can’t cook. I won’t spoil it for you, but sometimes I feel just a bit like Elizabeth Reed – not because what I post is false, but because what you see is not necessarily how we live every day. That’s probably pretty typical of most bloggers – most don’t show you the bottle drying rack on the kitchen counter…though some will.

Well, that was totally the case with this table setting. I set this all up with absolutely no plans to actually use it, knowing that I would have to take it down immediately after its photo shoot. Why? Because it’s our only table – we eat 3 meals a day here – and fancy linen runners and toddlers don’t exactly mix well!

So why did I even bother? Because I enjoy creating pretty things and sharing ideas and inspiration with you. It makes me happy. Big thanks to my husband who watched the kids while I took photos and didn’t roll his eyes too much when I made him eat lunch standing at the kitchen counter!

Bottle Brush Trees & Window Wreath – Pier1
Table Runner – HomeGoods
Chargers & Napkins – Hobby Lobby
Plate wreaths – Joann Fabric
Candlesticks – Vintage
Table Paint – Fusion Mineral Paint in “Lamp White”
Table Stain – Minwax Gel Stain in “Coffee” (table makeover here)
Curtains – Ikea “Vivan”
Wall Color – “Urban Raincoat” by Behr

Winter printables and rustic touches create a cozy vibe that can last beyond Christmas! I like to make the “base layer” of my Christmas decor just plain wintery so that I can strip away the overtly “Christmasy” stuff and still be set through January!

It helps ease that awkward period between Christmas and springtime!

Printables – click here
Frames – HomeGoods
Bench – Facebook Marketplace (see makeover here)
Throw – At Home Stores
Milk Can – GoodWill
Flocked Pine – Home Depot
Star – Local shop
Wall Color – “Urban Raincoat” by Behr

It’s amazing how one photo can have so many memories in it: the Christmas tree we had so much fun finding at a tree farm (in spite of it being bitterly cold!)…our family’s ornaments, both old and new…the vintage tree skirt and star sewn by my husband’s grandma…my beloved piano that I’ve had since I started playing at age 7, which my grandmother helped purchase in spite of having very little money, because she wanted me to have a quality instrument…

Christmas brings forth so many memories – both joyful and difficult ones. The same grandmother who helped buy my piano passed away the very next year shortly after Christmas. I was 8 years old. I miss her dearly and think of her often, but I take comfort in the fact that I will see her again one day.

I pray that whatever memories and feelings you are having this season that you may find peace, comfort, and joy in the true reason for Christmas – our Savior, Jesus Christ.

A very Merry CHRISTmas to you and yours!

~ Soli Deo Gloria ~

I am SO excited to finally get to share this with you all today! I can’t believe it finally happened!

So, back in June, I bought this little cherry bench off Facebook Marketplace, or rather, my Father-in-Law picked it up for me and my in-laws ended up making it my birthday present (thank you both!).

It sat in the garage for a long while, because…

…once I got the layers of dust off it and my husband saw how pretty the wood was, he didn’t want to let me paint it! This was actually like a full-blown marital disagreement! I will admit that I wasn’t expecting it to be in such excellent shape, and I had no idea from the listing that it was solid cherry. Based on the photo and the price, I was expecting a rough old bench!

I was actually experiencing some major “wood guilt” about painting it as well. However, it was much too red for my taste and it completely clashed with our floors and everything around it! What good was that?

My line of thinking is this:

Something can be the nicest piece in the world, but if it doesn’t meet your needs and fit your tastes, it doesn’t do you much good!

Now obviously I could have just painted it in spite of my husband’s protests and been done with it, but for the sake of marital harmony, and because I too was having doubts, I decided to sit on it (haha, get it?) for a while and be sure it’s what I wanted to do – and give hubby time to come around to the idea. And he did.

Sidenote: The listing photo was very cleverly taken to hide the fact that the bench’s legs were completely crooked! It wasn’t mentioned in the description or anything. I had no idea that the bench was going to need repair until my Father-in-Law brought it to my house. (He was not aware that I didn’t already know about the legs being crooked.) Thankfully, my husband is handy and was able to pry the legs off and re-glue them all, but man was I annoyed! Please please please, if you’re selling something online, don’t be deceptive like that!

I mean, look at how crooked it was (please ignore the poor photo quality):

And the bummer about FB Marketplace is that once the seller takes down the item, you can’t leave a seller review. The seller took the listing down as soon as the bench was taken, so I couldn’t leave any feedback! Ugh!

*Deep breath*

Moving on…

My husband very kindly fixed the legs for me, and I gave it two coats of Fusion Mineral Paint in Coal Black. Just like that, the bench was transformed, and I couldn’t be happier!

Amazing what a little paint can do, eh?

I had originally considered painting the bench a charcoal gray, but when I saw Lauren at Bless’er House paint a darling vintage desk with Fusion Mineral’s Coal Black, I was sold! What she said about every room needing a “little black dress” is so true!

Oh, and if you’re wondering about those botanical prints on the wall, you can get them for free here on the blog!

Do you have any fun FB Marketplace (or Craigslist, etc.) stories? I’d love to hear them! Drop me a comment below!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

My post the other day featuring the Neutral Fall Botany Printables sparked some comments and questions (positive ones!) about our family room curtains. I had been planning to write a post sometime on this subject, but figured I might as well do that now since you all seem interested! (After reading so many blogs by southerners, I feel a great urge to use the term y’all, but feel like I don’t live far enough south to have earned that privilege, so I’ll stick to my Midwestern jargon. )

A few years ago an Ikea was built within reasonable driving distance, and I finally made the pilgrimage a few months ago. When I said I wanted to go check it out, my husband didn’t quite understand the appeal – he lived in Houston for a few years before we met, so he is plenty familiar with Ikea and probably associates it with his bachelor apartment furniture. He agreed to it anyway, and we made it a family affair – took the kids and everything. I have to say, that place could be pretty overwhelming if you’re not going there for anything in particular. If you try to look at everything, you’ll be there for hours. However, it was really fun to see all the different sections – they had items I never even imagined, like this blanket we picked up for baby girl – it’s now our favorite, or this bib which has worked fantastically.

Okay, I am getting off track here. Back to curtains!

I love the look of farmhouse curtains that have a ruffle at the top – I just think they are so cozy and charming! To get that ruffle, though, you either have to pay a pretty penny for ruffled curtains, or you can use one of many Pinterest-inspired curtain “hacks” to achieve the look. Any time I’ve seen this done, however, it’s always been with solid white curtains, white bed sheets, or drop cloths. I’ve never seen this done with a patterned curtain.

Well, we wanted something a little more interesting than plain white, but also didn’t want to break the bank. The Rosallil curtain from Ikea was just what the doctor ordered. Its thin blue windowpane design keeps it interesting yet airy and it has such a farmhouse flair to it when you add a ruffle! The material is thin enough that this hack still works, and when it comes to Ikea curtains, you cannot beat the price! I mean, two panels for a grand total of $17.99 (some designs are even less)? Win!

(Just FYI, the Rosallil curtains are not privacy curtains by any means – I would call them more “light filtering.”)

So here’s how this hack works:

Ikea curtains come at a length of 98″. With our 8-foot ceilings, I had plenty of excess fabric to fold the end of the curtain over to create a ruffle. I first turned the curtains upside down. Yes, you will actually be hanging them upside down. No, no one will be able to tell, don’t worry! This is so the rod loops will be at the bottom of your curtains and not end up showing on the ruffle. Next, I measured [read: eyeballed] how long I wanted my finished curtains to be, then folded over the excess material at the top to create a ruffle. The body of the curtains will be showing the “right side” of the pattern and your ruffle will be showing the “wrong side.” Make sense?

I used these clip-on curtain rings to hang the curtains, clipping them right at the fold. Looking back, I wish I would have gone the oil-rubbed bronze route to match our ceiling fan, but we already had the silver curtain rod and a silver floor lamp, and I didn’t think at the time to just paint the rod! Oh well, I can always redo that later, right? You live and learn.

The only downside to using curtain clips is that one’s toddler can pull the curtains off if he tries. Ask me how I know…

To be clear, the “wrong side” of these curtains is not 100% as bold as the front side, BUT it is close. If we were putting this in terms of image opacity, I would say the wrong side is at about 90-95%. It’s not quite as bold as the front, but if you don’t point it out to anyone (don’t), they’ll never know, especially when the curtains are bunched up with sunlight streaming in. When it’s dim in the room, you totally can’t tell at all.

If this is the sort of thing that is going to bother you because you just know that it is not 100%, I would advise skipping this and sticking with a solid-colored curtain. Or you could cut off the ruffle, flip it around, and sew it back onto the curtain.

Personally, I don’t even think about it, no one else has ever noticed (even family I have asked directly), and I’m thrilled I didn’t have to sew! Haha, I know how to sew, but I hate it. Don’t even get my mom started on the years of trying to teach me…sorry, mom.

I hope this little curtain hack has been of some help to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a comment or message and I’d be happy to help!

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. Click here to learn more.

Update: This post was written several years ago, before I had much experience with Fusion Mineral Paint. I now recommend skipping a top coat altogether for pieces that will receive moderate wear, as Fusion has a built in top coat. For heavier traffic pieces, you can use Fusion’s “Tough Coat.” I am leaving the rest of this post intact as a learning tool.
Blessings,
Melissa

Never judge a book by its cover, right? Or maybe we should say never judge a table by its ugly green top!

We were in need of end tables for our living room. We had one measly little table left over from my husband’s bachelor days (I’m pretty sure it was a Target clearance special), and it just wasn’t cutting it.

I scoured the internet, Facebook Marketplace, and various stores for end tables that would fit our space and needs, but came up with nothing. Nada. Zilch. You see, I needed two matching tables that would be tall enough that we could fit one over this monstrosity:

It was huge, it was shiny, and it was the bane of my decorating existence.

Many times in marriage, you have to compromise for the sake of marital harmony, and so it was with the subwoofer. Apparently we “need” it and this one is too fabulous to replace with a smaller one (you know, like one that could hide in a basket). So the deal was if we kept it, I could at least put it under an end table between our couch and wall so it wouldn’t be visible from most angles in the room. Finding two matching tables that height was no small feat.

Then one day, the kids and I were in Goodwill, and I spotted these two end tables hiding under a pile of stuff. $30 for the pair!

I was so excited – they had so much potential! However, there was no way I was going to be able to fit them in the car with the kids in tow, and I had forgotten my measuring tape at home, so I couldn’t be sure they would even work in our space. I begrudgingly passed them up, hoping that the ugly green tops would turn people off and that the pile of junk on top would help hide them until I could talk it over with my husband. When he got home that afternoon, we talked it over, he went back up to Goodwill, measuring tape in hand, and brought them home. Eeeee!

Now, you might be thinking they don’t look like much, and I don’t blame you. They were pretty rough and dirty.

But just look at all that detailing!

I gave them a good cleaning and set to work. All the steps I’m about to tell you I did over the course of several weeks because, you know, I work during nap time and “after-mom hours” (but that never really ends, who am I kidding).

This right here has to be my favorite chalk paint color of ALL TIME: DecoArt Americana Chalk Finish Paint in “Vintage.” I got mine at Hobby Lobby, but I’ve linked it to Amazon so you can see it. It’s slightly cheaper on Amazon right now, but you could use a coupon at Hobby Lobby and make it even cheaper! (Always use that weekly 40% off coupon! Just go to their website or use their app.)

This color is the perfect vintage blue with just a hint of green. I know the jar right there looks green, but don’t go by that.

I did not sand the tables. I decided to just give them a cleaning and go straight on with the paint. Let me warn you, though, that different wood finishes will handle paint differently. It’s a good idea to rough up the finish if it’s especially shiny and slick. Also, if you plan to use a water-based topcoat, like a polyacrylic, certain woods like mahogany will wick the stain color up through your paint if you haven’t sealed it with a stain-blocking primer like this. I did not use a primer, and I’ve not had any trouble, but I kind of wish I had just to give it more durability. I’d recommend it to be on the safe side, especially if you’re not going to sand.

Back to the fabulous vintagey paint! A lot of times people will do some post-paint sanding or use an antiquing glaze to give interest to a piece and highlight some of the details. When it comes to distressing, I am a minimalist. I like some interest, but really don’t want my piece to look like it fell out of the truck on its way to my house.

I decided to do my own version – I call it “Missing Spots.” Haha. Seriously though, by simply not working the paint down into all the nooks and crannies, it left some depth to the details that helped them pop.

I taped off the green leather tops of the tables and gave these babies two coats of “Vintage,” allowing them to fully dry between coats.

The next job was to tackle the leather tops. They were SO dry, cracked, and worn that there would be no conditioning them or trying to bring them back to life.

I very carefully taped off the edges, making sure that all the lines would be straight.

For this endeavor, I turned to Fusion Mineral Paint in Lamp White. Why? Because I already had it…and I thought it would go well with the Vintage paint…and it does.

Allow me to give you my honest feedback on Fusion Mineral Paint, if I may.

The Pros:

• It goes on very smoothly and dries evenly.
• It comes in beautiful colors.
• It seems to be more durable than I expected.

A Few Cons, with Explanations:

• It is a bit pricey – not as expensive as something like Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, but it’s more than you’re going to pay at the hardware store for a little can of latex paint. I don’t live near a Fusion Mineral Paint supplier, so I have to order mine on Amazon, and by the time you throw in the cost of shipping, it adds up.
• The general hype is that you don’t have to sand or anything before you paint. However, the paint comes with a prepping flow chart, and in many cases it would behoove you to rough up your piece with sandpaper first. So the non-prepping step is kind of over-rated.
• The other idea that seems to be floating out there is that you only need one coat on your piece and you’re done. Eh, maybe it’s user error, but after roughing up the finish on a bunch of dining chairs, it definitely took two coats of paint per chair.
• They say that the 500ml container goes a loooong way, and while it does go decently far, it didn’t go nearly as far as I expected.

Bottom line: It’s beautiful paint and I recommend it, but it’s also been over-hyped and can’t live up to all the impossible expectations floating around out there.

Sorry – back to our originally scheduled programming:

The table tops got brushed with a coat of the Fusion Lamp White, then rolled with two more coats, using a foam roller. I allowed each coat to dry several hours before re-applying.

Here is the part where I hope you can learn from my mistakes and avoid yourself some headaches.

Remember to test your topcoat in an inconspicuous spot first, although this is pretty impossible with a table top.

I decided to top-coat the whole table because I have a toddler and a baby and, well, life happens. So I sprayed them with Rust-oleum Satin Clear Enamel, which I love for top-coating furniture. I used it on my dining chairs after painting with Fusion, and it gave them a beautiful, extra-durable finish. While this enamel spray worked well on the body of the end tables, the leather top was not perfectly level, and it ended up looking splotchy.

I would not recommend using a sprayed top coat on a painted leather surface. It’s going to look uneven.

So I re-rolled the tops with two more coats of Fusion. Next, I foam-brushed on some General Finishes Flat Out Flat Topcoat. Not good. Even though I tried to keep the application very thin and smooth, it pooled in sections and actually cracked my paint! I was beyond upset.

I picked myself back up off the floor (kidding, mostly), touched up the cracked spots and rolled with two more layers of Fusion. Oooh boy.

It was at this point I realized that there was probably no topcoat that was going to work out for me, and I decided to put Fusion’s promise of durability to the test.

Fusion Mineral Paint has a curing time of about 21 days for maximum durability.

It says that on the jar and they mean it. I was impatient, moved the tables back into the living room the next day, and topped them with decorations. My metal picture frame left some little indentations where I originally set it, but I’ve noticed that nothing else has left a mark since the 3-week curing time has passed.

So please learn from my mistake and wait the curing time before putting anything on your table top!

At the end of the day, I am super happy with how these tables turned out. With their fresh, beautiful color and unique detailing, they have become two of my favorite pieces in the whole house.

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