Farmhouse Makeover for a Vintage Handmade Side Table

On Friday, I was very excited because my town was having two estate sales.  I adore estate sales because you can find some really old pieces, many of which may have been beaten around and "loved" for years.....just what I enjoy looking for.  And for there to be two on the same day was practically heavenly.  Well, it turns out there was actually only one estate sale (who knew that one road in my town exists broken up in THREE different locations?) and it didn't really have anything left.  What the sale did have left was too expensive for the condition.  After such disappointment, I was determined to shop around my town until I found something to buy.

I was prepared to give up my search and my last stop of the day was one of those yard sales that you consider not stopping at because it looks like a bunch of clothes.  But once I was in the driveway, I decided to look through their garage.  And what I found was this little table.....for $10!

The woman who was selling it told me that her uncle had made it.  And when I got it home and flipped it over, I saw that it is stamped with Brockwayville, PA.  This was my town's name prior to 1925 when it was shortened to Brockway.  So, not only is my table handcrafted, but it also has to be close to 100 years old.  Isn't that exciting?

I stripped and stained the table top and  painted the base in a French blue with some white details.    The blue color was kind of scaring me, but after some distressing and antiquing wax it will be perfect.  

And here is how it looks now....

My fears of this table being too blue and bright were laid to rest after I took some 80-grit sandpaper to the chalk paint finish, followed by some antiquing wax.  The color really ended up the exact French blue color that I was imagining.  It is a lesson to not get too scared by color before the project is done.

And as always, I love how the stained table top ended up.  After I had removed the previous finish, I re-stained it with American Walnut stain , which is what I've been using on my furniture projects.  The color ended up very red toned on this wood, though.  So, after it dried, I rubbed on a darker brown stain (it's an old can, so I have no clue what the color is).  That darkened the top to the perfect color I was looking for.

I love the look of the color of the wood next to the blue paint.

The details of the wood are so much more noticeable after the paint and distressing.

The turned legs stand out so much more with the addition of a little white paint....just enough to highlight the table,  not detract.   

 I know that not everyone enjoys seeing old furniture painted.  I know that not everyone enjoys a lot of distressing.  

But, the top of this table was worn and needed re-stained anyway.  The table had already been refinished at least once in it's past, so I wasn't destroying a perfect antique table.  And I haven't actually destroyed the table....paint can always be removed and the table can be re-stained.

I love the look of my finished table.  And I enjoyed really distressing it to make the table look like it has been painted and used for all of its hundred or so years.  

And for those of you who hate seeing a good piece of original wood furniture painted....the entire piece has already been refinished at least once in 1971.  It is written on the bottom of the table, too.  And it is obvious to the eye that the table top has been varnished over after that and was worn in random places.  The top was going to have to be refinished, anyway.