$5 Table Gets a Facelift

Last fall, before we left Monterey, we went to a once a month sale put on by Habitat for Humanity.  Habitat for Humanity has resale outlets in various parts of the country where you can purchase an assortment of home products that have either been donated or are surplus materials.  They sell building materials, light fixtures, toilets, appliances, tile, hardware, furniture...you  name it, they probably have it!  I'd encourage you to check out their website, here, for a list of store locations.  Any money they make at these sales goes right back into the community services of Habitat for Humanity.

We browsed through the goods that day and came out with this $5 end table:

Since we moved into our house we've been using it like this in the family room until we got around to finishing it.  In the meantime, the girls somehow managed to both stand inside of the drawer and break it.  Not only did we have to finish the table, but some minor damage repair took place too.  Here's what it looks like now:

This was a fun project for me because I got to use a real power tool!!  Sure, I've used a staple gun before, but this time I used the power sander, and let me tell you, that thing was great!  If you're thinking about re-doing a lot of furniture projects, I would recommend purchasing one of these.  I started out using a chemical stripper that you paint on and then rub off.  This was seriously hazardous!  The chemicals are so powerful that they burn your skin, even if just a spec of it touches you.   Because of the extreme heat we're having, I just had on shorts, a t-shirt, and some flimsy gloves.  BIG mistake!  Let's just say I was thrilled by the time my husband let me use the power sander.  (And, I'm equally thrilled that my skin is still intact).

Anyway, we stripped it first, sanded it, sanded it some more, then wiped it down with mineral spirits and it was ready to go.  I decided to do spray paint on this project, inspired by Brooke over at All Things Thrifty.  She has some awesome painting tips, including a whole section on spray paint.  You can find it here.

Sanded and ready

I chose to use Rustoleum's heirloom white spray paint and I really love it!  I didn't realize there were some metal decorative parts on the table until I started sanding it.  At first I was bummed, but I decided to tape them off and keep the metal look; I like how it turned out.  It gives it some character.  One of the things I really love about this table is that it's LARGE, much like our sofa, so it's a perfect fit!  I also love the extra shelf, where I can keep a basket for magazines and books (that I picked up for FREE at a military thrift store in Vegas).

That's the story of my $5 table, and here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Decorative metal on the legs

Original hardware

LOVE this basket!

The accessories, for now

Had to include a close up of my all-time favorite picture, taken by our sweet friend in San Diego.

I'll be linking this up to Miss Mustard Seed today.  Be sure to head over and see some awesome furniture re-dos, and check out Miss Mustard Seed's blog!

Also, linking to: