Have you ever had one of those projects you were so excited to get started on and completed, and surprisingly started it and completed it in the same month? And then gotten so excited about sharing the project with all of your loyal blog readers (Hi Mom!), in the same month the project was started and completed in? Yeah, I only got the first thing done. So here a year later, I shall share with you the saga of the round coffee table.

You see, I’d been looking for the perfect round yet petite coffee table to place in the petite but not round living room. I had been using an old Lane cedar chest to act as a coffee table, but with a dog that was oddly curious about the blonde veneer (she enjoyed the occasional lick) and sweating glasses of sweet tea it was time to find something a little more durable and less cherished. I toyed with the idea of using  the ever trendy ottoman in place of a coffee table, but that didn’t quite work out as planned, a tray does not provide enough hard surface for our needs. We spend a lot of time in the living because, well, that’s where the TV is, and where ever we spend time we are going to be doing little projects that require a hard surface. So, I knew we needed a true coffee table, one that could with stand sweating sweet tea glasses, and even tho I don’t like to think about it, dogs that enjoy tasting the furniture (“Sharona, wipe!” Don’t ya miss Monk?).

Last year around this time, I was perusing through our local Goodwill and came across this beauty for 9.99.

Needless to say, since she’s in my backyard, I was all over that deal like Goldie fur on black denim. But, the finish was a little too dark, as in the exact same color as my couch.

See…

So, I needed a little contrast. Plus, I really wasn’t diggin’ the fake wood top and the scratched up legs.

I could have made it work, but honestly I just wanted to experiment with painted furniture. So, I read up on different techniques, I found that Centstational Girl has some good pointers on these types of things. You may know a lot more about this than I do or have another resource you found more helpful, but in my case her simple pointers were a life saver.

First, I decided that since the top of the table was super shiney, I would need to prime it before painting.

Then once the primer was dry, I painted my precious with Behr Premium Paint in Gardenia White semi-gloss. It’s a nice white, not too white, but not heavy in the blues or the pinks, it’s juuuust white. (Qwiet I’m hunting wabbit!) To keep from having those pesky roller or brush marks on this piece I used Floetrol. Essentially floetrol helps to sort of thin the paint, it makes for a slightly longer drying time but it’s worth it.

To apply the paint, I used a small trim brush for the sides and the legs, and a small sponge roller for the top. Nothing fancy, I know the experts say you should use good quality tools, but I’m too lazy to wash out brushes and rollers, so I pick mine up at the dollar store. Once I’m done painting, the brushes and rollers go away. Not exactly green, I know.

Anywho, I love how it turned out! Did I mention I finished this project in the fall?

Let’s just pretend I’m ahead of the game and this picture was taken more recently than a year ago.

Naw…I can’t lie,here’s how she looks now…

Here’s a closer view, also I just wanted to show off my yellow cow again.

The coffee table has held up pretty well over the past year, there are a few knicks and scratches. But that’s a given seeing as how much this table gets used, plus I didn’t bother to seal it with a latex paint sealant. I may repaint it, and  use that sealant to further protect from those knicks and scratches, and also to help with the stickiness. Latex paint has a little bit of a sticky feeling at first, so if you’re like me and can’t wait a few days for the paint to fully cure, a sealant would prevent decorative trays from sticking to your newly painted coffee table. Not that I’ve ever had to pry a decorative tray off of a newly painted coffee table…