Check Out My New Coastal Coffee Table - Thanks Dad!

I've had an urge to "do stuff" with furniture for a long time. I'm talking redecorating, painting, re-purposing - the kind of gorgeous stuff you see on Pinterest all the time.

Truth be told, I pin that kind of stuff on Pinterest all the time. Just pin it. Never do it. I think about doing it, I want to do it, but don't.

Well folks, that's changed because this week, I took the plunge. Well, my Dad did, but under my request and strict instruction, so I think that's just as good.

I have a vision for several pieces of furniture in my house. One is particularly important because it is currently functional and acceptable as it is. I have therefore been reluctant to mess with it. So I used another piece, an old, hand-me-down coffee table as a guinea pig.

After a rather brief consultation with The Google, I took the plunge and described to my Dad exactly what I wanted to happen. I know, I know, why am I getting my poor 85 year old Dad to do my dirty work? Because he bloody-well loves to do shit, OK? Seriously, hanging out is simply not an option for him and spending several weeks at my place for the Christmas holidays is a big ask without a "job" to do. So I've actually been a GOOD daughter by giving him work.

There was much discussion and input from both my parents, my husband and myself, plus some research on what others have done. I really liked a few pieces I'd seen that had a coastal feel and decided to go with that.

The decision was made to use white chalk paint on the legs and the bits just under the top (as you can see, I'm a furniture expert from way back) and to bring the top back to it's natural state and then varnish it.

I distressed the legs a little before varnishing to give it a little something extra (and by that I mean so I don't feel so bad when I crash into it at 120kms / hour  with the vacuum).

Sound simple? Well, quite frankly, it was. I mean, again, it was Dad that did the real work, but making decisions is not easily done in my family so I really feel I can take credit. At least some.

To me, the result is fabulous. To someone who knows the name for the bit just under the top of a table, it mightn't be fabulous, but I can live with that.

Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to take a before shot of the table, but I managed to find this pic among my old snapshots:

Don't be deceived by the beautiful gloss on top, in reality it was old, scratched, marked and...well...boring.

This is the transformed table:

Cool, huh? Now I know I can do this, I'm moving onto the next piece. Soon my house will be a sea of fresh varnish and chalk paint and yes, I will rejoice.

What do you think? Have you given something a makeover and been happy with it? Feel free to share in the comments, even the epic-fails (promise I won't laugh...much).