Coffee Table Re-Do

I bought a pair of butler tables from a friend who showed them on Facebook.  $20 for two tables in really good shape.  I had wanted a coffee table in my seating area of my studio for quite awhile. I asked friends on Facebook if I should leave it 'as is' or re-do it. The majority rules - re-do it in my style.  The tops of these tables come off, which creates a large tray, hence the name 'butler' table. 

I rough sanded the entire piece on the top, and on the sides and then dusted it off completely.  Sanding it a bit would prepare the wood for decoupage and paint, and help it adhere to the surface.

I painted the small flaps red, and quite a few coats.  I painted the larger flaps purple, then wiped off the paint, and decided that they should be another color.  And by the way, you need good acrylic paint to do this project.  High quality. Modern Masters Artists Acrylic - Organic Red worked the best, because it had the best coverage.

I decoupaged the cup and saucer fabric from my fabric line "Home is Where Your Story Begins" by Hoffman California Fabrics.  I painted the surface first with Liquitex Matte Medium, then carefully place the fabric down on the surface, smoothing out the edges, and any bubbles under the fabric.  After you get that done, brush on another layer of the matte medium to secure it into place.  Let it dry completely.

Large flaps were decoupaged with the black and white circles from my fabric line.  I cut the fabric with my rotary cutter, so that the line would be totally straight, where it met up with the table top.  Same method.  Let it dry completely before trimming the outside edges.

Then I added the text fabric from my line, all about quilting and doing what I love

It is coming together! I decoupaged black and white polka dot strips onto the edges of the table.  It made a nice accent.  I put a coat of Liquitex Gloss Medium with a fan brush over the entire surface of the table portion, not the flaps.  The fan brush allows you to have a thicker coat of medium.  This will need a couple of coats to preserve the surface.

White dots were added by using one end of an eraser.  These were painted on the red and black flaps

Another view

I painted the legs black and added polka dot accents to each leg - all four sides

I am so pleased at how it turned out!

It was made for this space and just in time for my Open Studio on Sat/Sun Dec 7/8.  Scoop is here along with a map. Hope to see you there!