You may have noticed in the pictures of Halloween and Fall decor that our coffee table recently got a facelift.

For a $25 flea market find 6 years ago, the table has lasted longer than most relationships.

And it had the battle scars to prove it.

Luckily, I had some leftover paint from my craft room walls, a jar of wood stain, and a block of sand paper.

First, I wiped the table down and sanded off the original finish.

Then I wiped off all the dust from sanding and painted the table with leftover paint.

There’s no need for the paint job to be perfect because it will just be distressed and stained over anyway.

This is the point where my husband tried not to look freaked out when he asked, “what made you choose that color?”

Then, I sanded the edges and some random spots on the table.

Next, I applied a thin layer of wood stain to all of the painted surfaces.

This is what it looked like after the stain was applied.

I let the stain set for about 15 minutes and then gently wiped away the stain with a clean cloth.

(No pictures of this step because my hands were covered in wood stain and you have to work quickly)

Don’t worry, I had my trusty assistant around for quality control.

After the stain dried for 24 hours I brushed on a coat of semi-gloss polyurethane to protect the table from future damage.

You’re supposed to apply two coats, but I felt that one was sufficient.

And that’s the last step! Project complete.

 

I’m really happy with the way it turned out.

 
I replaced the old brass knob with a cute Hobby Lobby find. Aside from the polyurethane, the knob was only thing I didn’t already own. I had a coupon for the knob which brought the entire cost of the project to around $8. Not too shabby, right?

I know that painting furniture can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to. If you take your time and have a little patience, you can give transform a dingy piece for very little money.