UPCYCLED WOODEN TABLE
DIY with HOW-TO instructions
'For the love of wood' don't throw away that old wooden furniture! Give it new life instead!
Classic
wooden furniture is always gorgeous as it is beautifully styled to
begin with. So if you have something old and worn lying around, give it a
make-over and use it to add colour or a new feature to a room!
A
friend of mine had an old jarrah coffee table lying around - she knew
that I upcylced furniture and happily dropped it off at my place one
day.
I couldn't believe how
lovely it was! Sure it had scratches all over it - but it was jarrah! (A
strong, dark and hard wood found in Australia.) The table had no dents
in it, no pieces/legs missing and no parts of it were loose. It was a
fantastic piece!
Here is the before photo:
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| Before photo - original table :) |
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| Close up of the table top - as you can see it was severely scratched. |
chosen was based on the person it was being made for. So feel free to use any colours, pictures, style or design you prefer.
Below are the steps to upcycling this wooden table:
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| My orbital sander. |
1.) SAND THE TABLE
You need to remove the shiny top-coat of lacquer on the wood before you can repaint it - if you do not remove it the paint will not stick properly to the wood and will peal off easily.
I can't stand sanding by hand it takes far to long - so I used an orbital sander (you can find them at your local hardware store - a bit pricey between $100 - $200 - but well worth the investment!).
I have a Bosch orbital sander (pictured here) - don't forget to also use a pair of safety glasses, safety gloves and a small face mask/disposable respirator for protection against dust.
The orbital sander only lets you sand flat surfaces, so for the legs and crevices you need to either sand by hand using sand paper OR purchase a sander that has small attachments for reaching corners and small places.
I have a Bosch orbital sander (pictured here) - don't forget to also use a pair of safety glasses, safety gloves and a small face mask/disposable respirator for protection against dust.
The orbital sander only lets you sand flat surfaces, so for the legs and crevices you need to either sand by hand using sand paper OR purchase a sander that has small attachments for reaching corners and small places.
HANDY HINT: After
you have sanded wipe the surface of the table down with a wet cloth to
remove all the dust - that way you will have a clean surface to paint on
:)
I decided to not only repaint this table - but to decoupage the top of the table as well - to add colour, style and character. So I DID NOT paint the table top as I wanted to decoupage that later.
HANDY HINT: Painting tends to
be messy- so always paint first before you decoupage. Try not to paint
the surface that you are going to decoupage as the decoupage glue sticks
best to a bare wooden surface. However if you do get some paint on the
surface (like I did in the table top edges) don't worry too much the
glue will stick to a painted surface as well.
I decided to paint my table white - partially because that was the paint I had available and because it was the most suitable colour for the style I had in mind.
You need to use an undercoat of paint or primer first - my undercoat was white and 1 layer of it is sufficient. I painted this using a normal thick paint brush. Make sure you cover all areas of the table that you wish to be painted. So in this case it was the legs and slats underneath. Turn the table upside down to paint underneath it as
well. Then give the undercoat at least 24 hours to dry.
Then you can start painting the top coat on - personally I find it easier and quicker to sponge on the paint than to paint it with a paint brush - so I just used a kitchen sponge to dab on my paint. This particular table required about 3-4 coats of paint. Make sure you let each layer of paint dry for at least 24 hours before adding another coat.
2.) PAINT THE LEGS, SIDES AND BOTTOM
I decided to not only repaint this table - but to decoupage the top of the table as well - to add colour, style and character. So I DID NOT paint the table top as I wanted to decoupage that later.
HANDY HINT: Painting tends to
be messy- so always paint first before you decoupage. Try not to paint
the surface that you are going to decoupage as the decoupage glue sticks
best to a bare wooden surface. However if you do get some paint on the
surface (like I did in the table top edges) don't worry too much the
glue will stick to a painted surface as well. I decided to paint my table white - partially because that was the paint I had available and because it was the most suitable colour for the style I had in mind.
You need to use an undercoat of paint or primer first - my undercoat was white and 1 layer of it is sufficient. I painted this using a normal thick paint brush. Make sure you cover all areas of the table that you wish to be painted. So in this case it was the legs and slats underneath. Turn the table upside down to paint underneath it as
well. Then give the undercoat at least 24 hours to dry.
Then you can start painting the top coat on - personally I find it easier and quicker to sponge on the paint than to paint it with a paint brush - so I just used a kitchen sponge to dab on my paint. This particular table required about 3-4 coats of paint. Make sure you let each layer of paint dry for at least 24 hours before adding another coat.
 |
| Painted and ready for step 3! |
HANDY HINT: No idea which paint is what? Same
here! No need to stress, to find the best paint for your wooden
furniture upcycling DIY projects just head to your local hardware store
and ask the friendly staff there to help you find some paint for your
project - all you need to tell them is 1.) What furniture your upcylcing
(so they know how much paint you will need) 2.) the colour you wish to
paint it (so they can help you find the right one) & 3.) just remind
them that you will need both primer and a topcoat (so that they can
help you find both) :) |
| This is what your table will look like when the painting is complete and the table top is ready for decoupaging. |
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| Mod Podge - decoupage glue |
3.) DECOUPAGE
To decoupage your table top you will need some Modpodge (best decoupage glue around), some foam brushes (by Mont Marte) (or a paint brush) to apply the glue and the pictures that you want to apply.
You can choose any pictures you like! You can print out pictures of princesses if you are decoupaging furniture for your little princess, pictures of your pets, or magazine pictures, or just pages from an old book?
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| Foam brushes |
I went on facebook and found a set of memes that were specific to the person I was making the table for - I printed these pictures out in colour and cut them out so that they were ready to go. I also covered the painted parts of the table in scrap paper to protect them from getting mod podge on them - there is no need to do this, I just have a bad habit of getting mod podge everywhere! :P
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| Table legs covered up with scrap paper to protect them from Mod Podge! |
HANDY HINT: Never decoupaged before and want to know how? No problem! Hop on youtube and check out some how-to videos. Here is one I like: How to Decoupage 1
And this one: How to Decoupage 2
This is the finished table!
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| Ta da! All done! |
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| Close-up of the table top :) |
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| All wrapped up and ready to go! |
Happy Crafting all!
Decoupaged Table!
DIY with HOW-TO instructions
DIY with HOW-TO instructions
The
same lovely friend who brought over that gorgeous jarrah coffee table
(check out the 'Upcycled Table' post or the 'Upcycled furniture' page) -
was kind enough to drop of this little coffee table/side table - how
awesome is she?!
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| Original coffee/side table - kindly gifted by a friend :) |
Now
this little table isn't made out of a nice thick wood that you can sand
back - instead it is a form of melamine wood (some people call it
formica). Now I'm sure you're all thinking - well that's not very good,
how do you plan to upcycle that if you can't sand and paint it?
Well - never fear all, we have plenty of options! With this kind of furniture you can spray paint, decoupage - or both!
Never decoupaged before and want to know how? No problem! Hop on youtube and check out some how-to videos.
STEP 1: REPAIR
As
you can see in the pictures, the top layer of the table was coming off
on one side and the top layer on one of the legs had burst open. To
repair these areas I pulled off any loose pieces of the top layer and
then filled in the gaps with wood putty. I then left it to dry properly
for a couple of days before I did any other work on it.  |
| Damaged side and leg - were filled in with wood putty. |
Step 2: Decoupage!
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| His Majesty (also known as Bay) decided to help with the repairs | :) |
Here's
the fun part! Grab all your decorating tools - your mod-podge, your
sponge brushes and your varnish spray and get decoupaging!
Check
out His Majesty Bay helping out with the repairs! And by helping I mean
modeling for photos, sitting on the table and generally trying to get
my attention by meowing incessantly at me hahaha :P
You can use any form of print you like to do your decoupaging.
Here are some ideas:
* Magazine pictures
* Newspaper clippings
* Pages out of an old book
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| Decoupage tools! |
* Google pictures of your favourite celebrity
* Pictures from your favourite movie
* Favourite tv show/character
* Pick a theme like summer/flowers/animals
* Use memes like in the 'Upcylced table' post
I
used 3 sets of prints which I bought online. You can buy uniquely
designed digital copies of prints online from www.etsy.com. I used a set
from my favourite shop. I also have many other print sets from that
shop for various projects.
I
turned the table upside down and covered the legs first, then bottom
side of the table. When that was complete I covered the top. As always,
ensure that you cover the table in 3-4 layers of mod-podge to ensure
that it has a thick covering, let the table dry for at least 30-45
minutes between each coat of mod-podge. It is best to leave mod-podge to
dry for 24-40 hours, to ensure that it drys completely, then cover the
surface with a decoupage varnish.
HANDY HINT: Want to buy prints like mine online? No worries! Head over to www.etsy.com and
search for digital prints. Check out Cherry Pink Prints - my favourite
store and the place where I found my Paris themed picture sets :)
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| Table - sitting in the living room :) |
STEP 3: DISPLAY!
I placed my table in the living room, between the couches to use it as a side table.
It makes a lovely feature :)
It
would also look awesome in an entrance, at the end of a hallway with a
plant on top or even as a little coffee table between two one seater
sofas.
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| Close-up of the table top. |
Have any decoupage theme ideas or projects that you want to share? Have any questions for us? Just leave us a message in the comment section below!
HAPPY CRAFTING ALL!
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