DIY Network

Bohemian Eclectic Living Room: Coffee Table A tired-looking coffee table gets a new lease on life with a steamer-trunk makeover. From "Fresh Coat" episode DFCT-204

Figure A

This formerly bland living room is well on its way to completion: the walls are a vibrant new shade, and the fireplace and bookshelves have taken on decidedly different looks. The current coffee table is fairly rustic and casual, but not for long: it's about to take on the look of a well-traveled steamer trunk (figure A).

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Materials:
sandpaper
dust masks
box brush
tack cloth
painte'rs tape
paint tray
small sponge rollers
Benjamin Moore semigloss paint #2133-10 (Onyx)
Old postcards, copies of pictures or magazine tear-outs.
matte medium
plastic bowl
metallic pale-gold paint
artist's brush
clean cotton cloth
Tudor brown furniture wax

1. The surface of the table is sanded and wiped free of dust.

2. Onyx paint is applied to create borders along the top and sides of the table. The legs are also painted black (figure B).

3. Next, the postcards and travel papers are laid out in a loose pattern and glued in place with matte medium. Once they are glued in place, the same medium is used as a varnish over the unfinished wood surface. The varnish will take 1 to 2 hours to dry (figure C).

Figure B

Figure C

4. While the varnish is drying, metallic pale-gold paint is applied to the nail heads on the table (figure D).

5. As a final step, Tudor brown furniture wax is rubbed over the wood and burnished until the finish stops feeling sticky; the wax adds to the antique feel of the trunk (figure E).

Figure D

Figure E