0 Table Talk: Perfectly Prepped…Take 2

A few weeks ago I bumped into an old friend and while we were catching up, she brought up this little blog-o-mine and said some mighty nice things about how she loved seeing all of my before and after projects. After I blushed a little and gave her a big snuggle for being so sweet, she followed up with the words I hate to hear but come my way all too often that go a little like this: I just don’t think I could ever do anything like that…Like kryptonite this this do-it-yourselfer, I’m sure I made the most awful face before taking off full speed on my well-practiced DIY pep talk complete with rebuttals to the three most common I-can’t-do-it-myself excuses…

1. I’m not that creative…Yes you are, and if you don’t believe me, just steal an idea from someone else and get to work.

2. I just know I’ll mess it up…You’re right. You may. Lord knows I have, but if you start with an easy project you’re sure to be a giant success and build your confidence for a more challenging DIY along the way. The other key is to get your feet wet with a super inexpensive rehab—a $10 yard sale dining chair, an old dresser your mom was planning on throwing out anyway—you get the gist.

3. I don’t have time…Yes you do. Rarely do I dedicate an entire evening to one rehab. By breaking up the project into manageable steps, you’d be surprised how much you can accomplish. A coat of paint before dinner, a little sanding during commercial breaks, and before you know it, your furniture flip is a wrap.

Take for instance my current rehab. I took into account all 3 of these ridiculously ridiculous excuses and squashed them all. I stole the idea for this table from my client-friend Jackie (click here to see the inspiration), only spent $20 on the table so that I wouldn’t feel too guilty hightailing it to the dumpster if need be and I’ve spent the past couple of days working on giving it a facelift little by little when a bit of spare time comes my way.




With the base of the table primed and painted, the table top was next up for a little love…

A light sanding with medium grit sandpaper was the first step to remove the thin layer of varnish and prep the wood for staining. It is also important to show your neighbors just how hot a pair of goggles and facemask can be on a girl at 7:00 am with no makeup and dirty hair. The world needs to know.



Sanded and wiped down with a clean cloth to remove any dust, the next step is to put my staining skills to work…but we’ll save that for the next commercial break.