My Coffee Table dilemma … help!
So here is my problem. I bought this coffee table thirty years ago. When I bought the table, it was light wood. I had the wood stained dark (gasp!) but at the time I thought that was a good thing. (Of course, I now know it wasn’t.) The table itself is pretty cheap. So it should be replaced. Ideally, I want either a chippy painted coffee table or a newly found flea market table.
But here is the problem. See those scratches on the edge of the table? Those are from years of soccer and baseball cleats. And the scratches on top? Those are from years of my kids playing and having fun. And the chew marks on the legs? Those are from when Sport was a puppy.
How can I possibly replace this table/ Is there a way to save the memories of this table but also change the look? I think my options are to either replace it, leave it, sand it or paint it. I am leaning towards painting it in a really chippy way, so that the scratches will still be visible. What do you think?
I really need your help.
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Paint is cheap so why don’t you go to paint route and see how you like it? If you still don’t like it you can always get another table and repurpose this somewhere else.????
Chalk paint and wax. Easy and fast.
I would paint it using Annie Sloan chalk paint or for a real chippy look Miss Mustard seed. Thinking of any specispecial color?
Yep, I think you hit the nail on the head about painting it in a really chippy way to preserve the “pre-chippiness” that your boys and doggie already started! You simply must keep it!!! 🙂
I second using chalk paint. I made my own chalk paint (there are recipes all over the internet) and it worked out well. I suggest you start by painting everything while except the top. You can always do it later but it sounds like there are too many memories there.
I say paint it!
I feel your dilemma. I don’t like our dining table and want to sand/stain/seal it to make it new again, but. . . my son’s toddler bite marks are on it! I really hated when he made the bite marks as a toddler but now he’s 8 (and my last babe) and it takes on a different feeling to see it. The kids get a laugh out of looking at it. Do we need a shiny new looking table? Do we need to be reminded of the past every time we look at it? No good answers here. When I’m honest with myself, I recognize that a tight grip on nostalgia doesn’t usually lead me down a healthy path forward.
I had a kitchen table that had the same love marks. I sanded it down and refinished it with just a clear coat. Some of the deeper marks remained which I was ok with. Maybe give a sanding and cover with paint, then sand the edges to bring out the history. Any way you choose will be the right choice for you because it’s your special table.
I agree with Elaine. Tell the boys stocking feet only on the table. Just kidding!!!
Polishing with lemon oil may hide the scratches, but will need to be repolished monthly.
I would sand it first of all and with the white shabby chic look you already have going on I think I would either chalk paint it white with Annie Sloan or Amy Howard chalk paint or you could leave the sanded wood raw and just use an Amy Howard Cerusing wax on it to give it a white pickling effect