Pages

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Shabby Chic Dining Table

One of my coworkers cleaned out her garage and storage areas.  She gave me two boxes of miniature things. Inside was a real treasure trove! There were books, magazines, some furniture, accessories, DMC floss, needles, fabric, and beads.

There was one particularly cute dining table with broken legs. It was calling to me to remake it. Yes, it needed rehab. It told me that it wanted a new look, it wanted to go shabby.

First, I had to make a new leg. I carved it from a scrap of wood I had from a previous project. I glued all the legs back on.



Second, I found a tube of Nutmeg Brown paint that almost identically matched the base stain and painted the new leg.

Then, I cleaned the rest of the table. It had mini-hold residue and plenty of dust. Next, it got a coating of Wicker White acrylic paint. After it dried, I lightly sanded down the paintbrush marks and lumps.



It was already looking pretty good!

Haley declared that she loved the table and that it should be pink.  After a bit of contemplation, I agreed that distressed pink would be great! I gave it a wash of very pale pink, then sanded it again after it dried.  It needed more distressing and age coloring.

After smudging some watered down blackish-brownish paint into the crevices, it really started to look just right. I sanded down various places for wear and tear. Some very watered down black mixed with brown paint went into the corners.

Then, the table top just wasn't right. I had put this one away for a while and come back to it.  I decided to marbelize it. After a bit of wicker white, off-white, dolphin gray, taupe, and some thinning agent later, I had a pretty decent looking marble job. I used some clear gesso on top of the marble paint, lightly sanded it down to smooth out ridges and lumps, then finished with matte varnish.

Voila! I'm finally happy with this table! I also managed to put some furniture in the Willowcrest and make a nice scene to show it off.

(French toast, napkins, tray, and blueberry pie were by Kim Saulter.  Nutella by LugArt Petit. The jam and other tarts are from sources unknown.)

2 comments:

  1. Hi Jenny! I think that your shabby marbled table looks Great! I know the feeling of not being satisfied with something and having to keep at it until you are. Well done. So you are doing the Willowcrest are you??? I also have this house kit and it looks daunting. I have a pinterest site where I have been collecting photos of The Willowcrest done by various miniaturists. I always find it so interesting to see how one product can be reinvented over and over and be so different each time. It will be with great pleasure that I will get to see yours too, Already your furniture collection around the table looks good!

    elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Elizabeth! The Willowcrest is the first house I built, I have photos on here. It just happens to be empty most of the time! When you get around to working on yours, I can give you some pointers :)
      Jenny

      Delete