Coffee Table Upcycled

Confession time: I'm a sucker for a good upcycle project, and this coffee table had me at "hello." 

The marriage of clean lines and the stocky style was pure magic, an irresistible combination that whispered potential and begged for a new lease on life. 

It wasn't just the understated elegance of the clean lines with an eye-popping design or the charm of the chunky build that stood out. It was the way they harmonized, creating a piece that was both modern and timeless.

Should I have paid more attention to the flaws?

Perhaps.

The distastefully painted top was a warning sign about all the sins it might have covered. The joinery didn't give me a good feeling, but not even that could deter me from reimagining this piece!

The first task was to get to the bare wood on that tabletop.

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1. SANDING IT

Getting rid of that top layer of nonsense took its time. 80-grid sandpaper on my orbital sander worked its magic.

|  Dewalt Sander  |

As I imagined, there were plenty of flaws on that top, and at this point, I knew what action to take.

There was no reason to fight all those marks!

This was going to be a paint project. Besides, the top layer all around this piece is laminate.

2. TRIM IT

Given that it was now a painting project, I had to remove the lower part of this table. The design was pretty, but it would've been impossible to paint all that narrow inside area.

A circular saw, clamps, and a straight edge were necessary to accomplish this step. 

| Circular Saw |  Clamps |

The inside... Two 3/4" MDF boards glued together and laminated all around. No wonder it was SO heavy.

I simply transferred the little furniture slides onto the new legs.

3. PRIME IT

After sanding the lower inside part of the table and getting rid of dust, I gave it two coats of tinted primer. Kilz is the primer I usually have for this type of work. I added some black paint to the primer to make it less contrasting when applying the final coats.

4. PAINT IT

After lightly sanding the entire table with 220-grid sandpaper and dusting it, it was time to paint it.

I gave it two coats of SW-Tricorn black and let it dry between coats.

5. SEAL IT

I waited a few days for the paint to dry completely before giving it two coats of clear mate polyurethane to protect the surfaces.

I love this new coffee table! It's solid but sleek, a great transitional piece for the way my home decor is heading. 

I leave you with some pictures that I took during Christmas.

Up close, the brushmarks and little indents in the laminate are evident. It only adds to its charm. :)

I hope you have enjoyed this transformation!

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