Table makeover

When Lisa of Salt Marsh Cottage saw Ballard Designs’ Messina Dining Table, she knew it was almost perfect. Besides the $900 price tag, the table was rectangular while Lisa needed an oval shape. She stalked Craigslist for an oval table that she could transform and, amazingly, bought one along with six chairs and an extra leaf for a total of $100! Talk about a steal! Lisa then developed a paint technique to mimic the zinc top and painted the legs and apron with homemade chalk paint. She couldn’t be happier with the way it came out–not to mention a savings of almost $800!

Chaney from May Richer Fuller Be has been using the same nightstand since she was in college. While it was still in good shape and she liked it just fine, Chaney says the dark wood didn’t go well with the light and airy look of her master bedroom. Chaney decided it was time for a makeover and challenged herself with giving the table a wood-tiled look – without using any power tools. Mission accomplished, and all Chaney needed was an X-acto knife!

When six chairs in need of an update came knocking on her door, Jennifer of Contemporary Harbor was inspired to give them a makeover and make a table to match. With the inspiration of a farmhouse dining set from Pottery Barn, Jennifer got to work repainting the chairs and then constructing a new planked tabletop. I love how Jennifer simplified the build by reusing the legs from an outdated table. What a smartie!

If you love that light and airy whitewashed finish that you often see in catalogs and magazines, the good news is that you can achieve the same look without paying big bucks!  Desiree of Camelot Art Creations completely changed the look of a honey-colored wood table by layering watered down grey and white paint. Desiree says the beauty of the technique is that she can simply wipe off the paint if she doesn’t get the results she’s after.

Jocie of The Better Half had been dreaming of a beautiful farmhouse table for her dining area. With a bit of begging, Jocie convinced her handy hubs Ethan to take on building the table from scratch. That is… until she came up with an ingenious idea. Instead of building from scratch, Josie and Ethan reused the legs and parts from a secondhand table and built a new solid oak tabletop. Their table is every bit as gorgeous as their Pottery Barn inspiration but way cheaper and even higher quality!