I’m not really into french furniture. But for $5 at a yard sale, I snagged this walnut Mersman two-tiered table. French or no french… the price sold me and I knew someone out there would love the table design.
This piece is an example of how easy it can be to transform furniture with paint. I hope this post inspires friends and readers to buy something old, cheap, and beat up—then follow the easy steps below.
If you’re interested in reading about how to generate design ideas, rather than reading about paint techniques, check out my waterfall dresser. I walk you through the creative process that allows for exploration of innovative concepts.
Paint Process
1. Sand it lightly (not always necessary if you’re going to use chalk paint).
2. Make homemade chalk paint* or buy Annie Sloan chalk paint.
3. Just slap it on and let it dry (it’s almost that easy).
4. Distress it a bit with 100 grit sand paper if you like the distressed look.
5. Seal it with furniture wax or Minwax wipe-on poly.
6. Make a cup of Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee and smile at what you’ve done.
I’ve simplified the directions above in order to show you how easy it can be to dramatically alter something with a bit of paint. Feel free to comment with questions.
This is available at my etsy shop
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Nita@ModVintageLife said:
I featured your pretty table today at Mod Mix Monday. I love these photos you took. So pretty.
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Thanks so much for the feature! I love your blog and consider it an honor to be featured!
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Mary Lou Unangst said:
Martha, I was so surprised to see your post. I bought an identical table at a yard sale this year for $5 too! I painted it cream and love the effect.
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
No way! That’s hilarious. Do you have a blog… I would love to see a picture of it. It’s a really nice table, isn’t it? Nice lines. It just seemed to need a classic neutral color. Thanks for connecting.
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Mary Lou Unangst said:
No. I don’t have a blog. Wish I did so I could post a photo.
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Well… if I had to choose between running a blog and painting furniture, I would definitely choose painting furniture. That’s much more fun.
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crunchydiva said:
Beautiful! This is the second blog post of yours that I found on link parties today. Need to become a follower now! Great to “meet” you and your work!
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Nice to meet you! I love the attitude on your blog.
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Sette Design said:
It looks so pretty. How do you make chalk paint. I’m a faux painter living in Italy? maybe you should do a post on that… or have already?
Really good work.
cheers
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Hi Sette: It’s so nice to hear from Italy, one of my favorite countries. I will do a post dedicated to homemade chalk paint (great idea). I’ve incorporated the recipe into some of my posts but here it is: The recipe is basically a ration of 3 parts paint to 1 part plaster-of-paris. Start by mixing plaster of paris with just enough water to produce a consistency that is a bit thinner than peanut butter. Mix into it 3 parts paint. Make sure to incorporate well. Other bloggers have used baking soda instead of plaster-of-paris. I haven’t tried that since the POP works very well for me. I hope this helps! Thanks for visiting my blog.
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Kathryn Griffin said:
Hi Martha! You will be one of the features at Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again at the party…once I get it live. lol. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
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Rita said:
i love the price and what you did to the table. it looks stunning!
visiting from Knick of Time.
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BeColorful said:
Wow! what a find. So pretty and gorgeous photos. 😀
Thanks for sharing on beColorful.
p
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Kathryn Griffin said:
You can’t beat the price and you’ve made it into a dreamy little piece. Thank you for sharing this at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again on Monday. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
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Gail (@repurposedlife) said:
how sweet! your table is so cute! and I LOVE the price!
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Becky said:
So sweet and simple!
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Thanks Becky for the comment. Means a lot coming from you as I’ve been visiting your blog and admiring your work for a long time!
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Donna Wilkes said:
After all the Christmas rush, this post makes me ready for the quietness of just me, a paintbrush, and a piece of furniture. Beautiful!
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April Hoff said:
This is absolutely gorgeous! Love the color! Great job!
-April Hoff
housebyhoff.blogspot.com
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Kathleen said:
Adorable table! Totally worth the $5 🙂
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Laurie said:
You always do such beautiful work! I love the table!
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Joelle said:
I love it. Well done! I am trying to find the courage to do this to a few pieces that I have in the attic.
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Go for it Joelle. It really just takes paint, a brush, and time. Some of my other posts provide more detailed instructions for basic painting. Have fun!
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