A New Home For a Cute Farm Table

Do you remember that scene in The Wizard of Oz where the house lands on top of the wicked witch and all you see are her legs sticking out with those fabulous ruby slippers?

Well, I found a fabulous pair of legs sticking out just like that underneath a pile of furniture in Courtney’s garage!

My legs didn’t belong to a wicked witch. They belonged to a cute farm table Courtney picked up in her travels.

They didn’t have ruby slippers either, but they did have great detail that I knew would look wonderful with a paint makeover. I took the legs home with me along with the tabletop and two chairs.

I’m really glad Courtney never got around to painting this for All Things New Again, our furniture and paint shop in Leesburg, VA. This is the perfect table and chair set for MY kitchen at home!

We recently remodeled our kitchen with new black cabinets, marble countertops and a gray subway tile backsplash.  I thought several shades of gray chalk/mineral paint would be pretty swirled together on the tabletop with black legs and chairs.

I can’t tell you exactly how I applied the paint because it was one big experiment. I just added a bit of color— dry brushing in some spots, applying it thick in others. Then I rubbed away color with a damp sponge, a technique called wet distressing.

I kept layering colors, letting them dry, and then wet distressing to reveal the colors underneath.

I don’t know how many layers I ended up adding. I just kept repeating the process until all of the grays swirled together in a way that looked perfect to me.

The nice thing about paint is there is no strict formula for success. You just keep playing around with it until it looks wonderful to you!

After the tabletop was finished, the legs and chairs were easy.  I painted them with black. Just plain black to anchor all of those gray swirls.

Eventually, Dave is going to build benches to go at the long sides of the table. I think benches will be easier for the kids to sit on than chairs. Plus benches tuck underneath the table, making my kitchen look bigger.

Until then, the two chairs are perfect for Dave and me. This upcycled table set was just what we needed as the finishing touch for our new kitchen.

What Dorothy said is true—There’s no place like home!

~ Cathy

All Things New Again is a family-owned furniture and paint boutique in Leesburg, Virginia, about an hour or so west of Washington, D.C. We offer hand-painted furniture, home decor, several lines of paint for your next DIY project … and a full schedule of fun painting classes and workshops.

Tune into our All Things New Again Facebook page every Friday at 12 noon (eastern time) for Furniture Painting Friday, our FREE online mini paint lesson.