Inspired by All Things Thrifty

16 Apr 2011 2 Comments

by Lynn in DIY Home Improvement

Since my last post was titled “Beg, Borrow, and Steal” I thought I would share a few projects that have been begged, borrowed and stolen/inspired from a fellow blogger.  Today’s post project, my dining room table, was inspired by All Things Thrifty.  Here is her table:

The color pallete in my house is a little more muted and beachy whereas All Things Thrifty used more vibrant colors.  I followed her advise on how to glaze furniture.  The only difference in glazing is I had mine tinted chocolate brown. 

The glaze made the woodgrain on these chairs really stand out.  After two coats of primer, I painted on two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Boothbay Gray in eggshell.  Then I applied the glaze following All Things Thrifty’s instructions, and last applied a couple of coats of polycrylic to protect my work. 

The table was done using the same process as the chairs, but instead of the blue-gray color I used Benjamin Moore’s White Dove.  This is also the color we painted the trim in our house. 

Overall the project was a success, but now I am going to tell you the part of the project that did not go so well.  My husband and I got this table when we first got married at an estate sale for $40.  I remember the moment well because we were so excited to get a table for $40 but the daughter of the man who had passed away started crying because her dad’s stuff was not selling for very much money.  One of those bitter-sweet circle of life kind of awkward moments.   Anyway, sorry I don’t have any before pictures, but just picture a common brown table with a laminate top.  Yep – laminate.  And that is where the problem comes in.  And that is why I often keep a table cloth on it like the one in the above picture.

Here are lessons I learned from this project: Wood is always better than laminate, but I am sure you knew that.  My table now has two chips in it – one from being bonked with the side of the pizza cutter and the other from placing a hot coffee pot on it.  Yeah, those two things are pretty hard on any table top.  Another reason for the chips are I hardly sanded the thing.  Wishing I would have taken more time on that step.  That said, I touched up the chips with a little paint and you can hardly notice them.  In the above picture the chip is in the upper left hand corner.

But this problem is a mystery to me.  My five year old was coloring on the table and I cannot get the marker off.  I am 95% sure all of the markers he was using were your basic washable kid markers, but the red refuses to come off. 

Anyone have any ideas how to get this marker off of my painted table top?  I would love some suggestions!

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