Life on a Budget

So I'm sure that if you're anything like me you receive a lot of hand-me-downs or at least offers for hand-me-downs. I'm a fan of them and I can't seem to ever refuse anything. But, it's a shame when someone gives me a sturdy, beautiful piece of furniture and it's just "not my style". For example, I really don't like light wood. I don't know why. There are times when I see light wood highlight a room and I think it's stunning. But for my home, I simply prefer dark wood; combined with bright whites and vibrant color.

So I decided to do some research. I figured there had to be a way to transform the pieces of furniture I have in my garage into pieces that will nicely suit me and my style. I decided to start with a small project; a little end table that my parents bought years ago from IKEA that has been residing in the corner of my family room. I have various IKEA furniture in my family room and all the other furniture is black.

So this was my first adventure in furniture makeovers; this was my standard light-wood IKEA end table.

I started my project off by sanding the entire thing. This was extra important for me because of the water stains on the top of the table. They were pushing up and making the surface rough and bulgy.

Here is a line up of the products I used. I opted for spray paint over regular paint because I was concerned about streaks and I'm not highly skilled at this yet. I thought it would be an easier material to work with. I also bought two sanding boards; one to remove paint and one to smooth surfaces between coats.

My next step was to prime the whole thing. Lets talk about primer. So I hear you really have a choice; you can either sand something to oblivion and paint or you can prime and then paint. In my case, I like to do both. Why? I don't know. Call it over-kill. I also have a problem whenever I prime anything; I really love white and when I reach this step I always wonder if it's time to stop. But, it's not!

This was my last step (before the next steps this weekend). I spray painted the entire thing black. This was where I was going to stop and then apply the clear coat. But, I started thinking that I should add some designs on the upper side boards. So I'm going to do that this weekend and then I'm going to clear coat the whole thing.

*Please note that the table is still wet here. I opted for a "flat" spray paint so it is much less shiny once it dries.*

So lesson learned; if I can do it, you can do it. My total cost= $18. The newest end table that is similar to mine from IKEA would have cost me $99.99; see HERE.

I love saving money, don't you?