Side Table Redo

 I'm pretty happy about this week's project. It turned out just as I'd hoped, which is almost unheard of for me. This little side table used to look like this:

 Lovely bones, but a bit on the... homely side. She just needed a little makeover. Tutorial after the jump!

So The Graphics Fairy has this really cool bit of French ephemera:

I don't know what "ephemera" means, but it sounds fancy! Anyway, as an amateur furniture refinisher and professional eater of chocolate, I knew it would be perfect for what I had in mind.

But first, I had to do something about the outdated hunter green legs and the honey-colored varnish. So I sanded the living crap out of the table top and painted the legs gloss black.

 Better already! I printed the graphic in sections to get the size I wanted and used carbon tracing paper to outline it onto the table.

 Then I painted it over with a paint marker. I love these. They are my favorite thing.

 Anyway, when it was dry, I sanded it over to age it a bit and then I stained it with Minwax Woodsheen in Colonial Pine.

 Ahhhh, almost there. After a coat of clear varnish, she was all done!!

 I can't believe the difference!! Her beautiful, curvy legs can really be appreciated now that they're a sexy black, and that top is unrecognizable. Tres magnifique! (I'm pretty sure that's French for "chocolate is delicious and I wish I had some")

The cool thing about a project like this is that this kind of furniture is easy to come by, inexpensive, and (usually) solid wood. This sort of Country Kitchen Style was really popular in the 90s and lends itself well to refinishing. I am now on the prowl for more furniture like this...