Friday, May 17, 2013

One Man's Trash...Color-Block Table Tutorial

After living at home for four years during college, I had a pretty good amount of furniture and decor stacked up. Having only a small room to myself, most of the items I had collected had never been used. I guess I was just saving it for when I had a place to call my own.

Well, fast forward to February 2013, I had a new job and apartment in Austin and it was finally time to pull everything out of storage and see what we were really working with. We'll just say it was an eclectic mix. 

My grandparents had this old green lacquered table they were going to throw away. Being the Flea Market Flip fan I am, I couldn't let this happen. Three trips to Home Depot, 12 sandpaper sheets and 2 days later, this is what I had.... 


Color blocking is extremely popular right now, and furniture and home decor is no exception. This entire project cost be less than $20. I had primer and paint already lying around the house, but if you don't, you can still complete this project for less than $60. It may sound like a lot, but remember that you will have leftover paint and supplies for future projects!

I was so excited to get the ugly green off, I forgot to take a before photo. Here are some beauty shots of the table set up in the new apartment...




I like it, but once Josh and I bought a TV and set it up, i quickly realized the table is really more of a desk. We may need to shop for a real media console and move this beauty into another room. I see an IKEA trip in the near future. But that's for another post. Below, you will find a list of ingredients I used for this project. As the blog comes along, I promise I will get into the habit of carrying my camera around everywhere I go. That way I can capture all the steps. After all, we do love photos!

Color Block Table Tutorial 
What? 
(1) Can of Krylon® Premium Metallic Spray Paint from Michaels- $6.00 
(1) Can of Kilz Latex primer in white from Home Depot- $19.98
(1) Can of blue paint from Home Depot- Any latex paint will work
(1) Package of 80 grit sandpaper sheets from Home Depot- $9.97
(1) Roll of blue painter's tape from Home Depot-$7.87 
(1) Roll of foil
(1) Pencil
A stack of newspaper to lay down where you are working

How? 
First things first: Do this outside or in a well-ventilated area! Paint can be messy and Kilz smells like a fish factory. :)  
Step 1: Sand the entire desk with an 80 grit or less sand paper block (the less grit, the harder it will sand). 
Step 2: Paint the entire desk with white primer. Helpful hint: Use white primer for lighter paint projects (white, baby blue, mint) and grey primer for darker projects (black, red, navy) 
Step 3:  Measure 1' up from the floor going up the leg of the table and mark with a pencil all the way around each leg. 
Step 4: Use painters tape to wrap the legs horizontally where you want to top color to stop. Use the pencil marks as a guide. 
Step 5: Paint the entire desk, making sure to stop at the painters tape. I used 3 coats, waiting at least 4 hours between each. 
Step 6: Once the paint has dried overnight, peel off the painters tape and re-tape above the pencil marks. 
Step 6: Cover the legs with foil, leaving the bottom 1' of the legs uncovered.  
Step 7: Spray paint the bottom 1' of the legs gold. I used 3 coats, waiting 1 hour between each. 

I suggest using a sealant. I ended up not using one and I am regretting it. The TV and record player leave marks on it and I am pretty sure that is why! 

All in all, however, I love my recycled table!