Mid-Century Modern Makeover

I am on a serious PAINT ALL THE FURNITURE kick thanks to a basement full of broken promises and a resolution that I am making a half baked effort to keep. This project is another RE find, and let me tell you a find it was!

I am falling more and more deeply in love with all the boho/mid-century modern mashup style that is currently taking over Pinterest and Instagram feeds. I love everything about it and am trying, little by little, to infuse some of it into my own home. I am still learning a lot about what works, what doesn’t, as well as what I like and what I don’t like. I think I am finally starting to get into a groove aesthetic-wise (if that is even a thing) and these tables are seriously working for said aesthetic.

RE posted these deliciously MCM side tables on their Facebook page and when I saw them I was more excited than I’m comfortable admitting. They were too good, and exactly what I had been wanting for the living room.

Let me rephrase: they were exactly what I had been wanting for the living room at a fraction of the cost. I scored these babies for $32. That is $16 per table (right?) which is pretty great considering the ones I’d been obsessing over from West Elm and Wayfair were over $150 each, at least.

After snagging the tables, however, they sat untouched in my basement for several weeks.

I really, really hate painting. Hate it with every fiber of my being. It is tedious, messy, and waiting for it to dry is so, so hard. This is certainly the reason these tables stayed in the basement for so long, but I finally decided to bite the bullet and finish them a few weeks ago, and I am so glad I did because they are awesome.

The only thing wrong with them was the fact that there were weird scummies on the tops (you can see it in the picture above). It looks like there had been adhesive tiles on there or something, and when they were removed it left behind this rubbery film? At any rate I won’t lie: it was a bitch to get off. I tried Goo Gone, a paint scraper, spit, lighting it on fire, and then finally had to bring in the big guns aka my my electric sander and 60 grit sanding pads. It worked like a charm.

I apologize, however, as I didn’t take any pictures of the “refinishing” process except for after the first coat of primer, because I was so angry about having to paint.

I did one coat of primer and three coats of white trim paint by Benjamin Moore because it’s what I had on hand. I used a mini foam roller for the flat areas and a brush to cut in. I let it dry for at least 8 hours between coats, and sanded very lightly in between the first and second coats with 220 grit sandpaper to make sure everything was nice and smooth.

I upgraded from the old hardware and switched it out for these cool ring pulls from Amazon. They were only $7 for the pair and shipping was free! They took forever to arrive, but for that price I don’t care.

I spent $19.50 on each of these tables and it was worth every single penny!

I see now that the painting was worth it.

I’m especially happy that they have drawers to give us a place to hide the remotes/Netflix gear, etc…storage is at a premium right now in this house.

Even though the tops had that weird stuff all over them, a little elbow grease and they came out perfectly smooth and now look brand new.

In case you couldn’t tell, I am head over heels for these tables. It’s OK though because having crushes on furniture is a totally normal part of becoming a middle aged adult, my imaginary psychologist told me so.

So next time you’re yard sale-ing or thrifting or garbage picking in the dead of night, don’t pass something up just because it isn’t perfect — a little paint goes a long way. In a way, these little tables are a metaphor for life. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and all that.

I’m very wise.