I had this sofa table that didn’t quite g
o with anything else in my house and then there were the letters that my child scratched into it when she was 4. We tried covering it with table runners and other items, but it was just about to be thrown into storage. I didn’t want to totally get rid of the table. I purchased this from a furniture dealer at a flea market when my husband and I first moved in together (memories) and I absolutely hate wasting good furniture! So a makeover was in order.
My house has more of a french country feel and so I tried painting and distressing it.
I just love how it turned out. I started out only lightly distressing it, but then I just couldn’t seem to stop! Some may think I overdid it, but I love it. It really pulls my great room together now (although the great room still needs a lot of help).
You don’t have to get rid of something because it no longer fits your style. Try freshening it up. You could paint and leave it alone or you could paint it and distress it, stencil it, or apply contact paper to the top. Add fun new knobs and maybe a skirt to an old table. Let your imagination run wild and save that old piece of furniture from the landfill. There are times when no matter what you do the piece just isn’t going to work in your home. Don’t keep it, but don’t toss it. If you live in town, set it out by the curb on a nice day. I guarantee someone will grab it in no time. I have gotten some really cool pieces from curb shopping. If you don’t want to do that, stick it in a yard sale, give it to a friend, put it on Craig’s List or freecycle.org, but don’t throw it out. It will work great for someone else.



Hi Heather, I love the distressed look of the sofa table. Was it very hard to do? I would love to do that to my headboard that I want to paint white. I also love the fact that you are going to paint your kitchen cabinets. I would love to do that b/c mine are so very old (50ish old). I need to figure out how to fix a drawer pull that’s broken (several) after an earthquake we had. Anyways, if you could give me info on distressing, that would be great. Love your ideas. Thanks.
Thanks Sylvia! No, distressing is extremely easy to do! I started by sanding down the entire table (I cheated and used a sander). Then, I painted it black from top to bottom and then used a piece of sand paper to sand the entire piece. I started out by lightly sanding it around every edge. I just kept imagining where the paint would have worn on it if it had been old and banged up a little. As I went on I felt it looked good really distressed so I kept going. I think it can be overdone so be careful. Do you want to send me a photo of the drawer pull? I bet my father (major woodcrafter) can figure out what to do with it.
P.S. I am excited about painting my cabinets. My husband is going to go through with it next week. I will posting it afterwards. Wish me luck!!