Now, full disclosure, when I say half hour I mean work time, not counting the bit of drying time in between coats ;)
So.....
While having my regular nose around the Limerick Animal Welfare charity shop a couple of weeks ago I came across this little beauty for €10.
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| Pardon my hideous 90's tiles, they're next on the big job list! |
And that my friends is why this is my favourite charity shop. Nine times out of ten when you call in there there's nothing but a lot of rubbish, but on that tenth visit you might just be in the right place at the right time and pick up a gem.
They don't have a lot of room, and they haven't gotten as picky with what they accept as donations as other charity shops have so the shop is often filled with....well junk! But the pay off is that they price things really low in order to get rid of them as quickly as possible, so you might just get lucky!
I've gotten a LOT of my furniture there over the last year.
So when I saw those hairpin legs peeping out from under a pile of old toys I snapped it up quicker than you can say "mine!"
The legs were a muddy brown colour and the top was horrible laminate that was mouldy underneath, but I knew I could make it beautiful with just a little work.
So I sprayed the base gold (act like you're surprised), after a coat of spray primer, and then I focused on getting the top looking, well, less disgusting!
Now, I love marble top tables, I think they are just so glamorous, but unfortunately having marble cut to size wasn't in my budget! Thankfully I had seen a post over on Swoonworthy where she had used marble effect contact paper on her vanity to jazz it up, and it looked great! So I took myself off to Guineys and bought a metre of some nice blue/grey stuff that I liked the look of.
I laid it out under the table top and cut around it, leaving a slight lip.
Now, this is the part of the project where you're going to need the help of a crazy haired child in pyjamas. If you don't have access to one I cannot in good conscience advise that you continue. Their help, good people, is essential to the success of this project! ;)
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| She needed an apple halfway through, to keep her strength up I presume. |
So I peeled off the backing and carefully applied it to the top, before using a bank card to rub the paper, forcing any bubbles out towards the sides. If you have stubborn bubbles the paper can be lifted off slightly and re-attached, rubbing with the card as you go to force the air out, but the marble pattern is actually really forgiving so if you can't get it perfectly smooth I wouldn't worry about it too much, I don't think it would be noticeable.
When I was happy that all the bubbles were gone I ran the card around the edge in order create a bend in the paper, then i took a craftknife and carefully cut away the excess.
Then, after a quick prime and spray paint of the underside it was finished.
Voila!!
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| I tried it out in Em's room too, but it's better in the guest room for the moment. |
I think it's really cute. At some point in the future I might paint the legs a really vibrant colour, like a fuschia pink, but for the moment this fits in perfectly with my home, and it will be very useful in the guestroom, where it's doing double duty as both a vanity and a radiator cover!
Ever rescued something from a charity shop? I'd love to hear about it!
Linda
xx
