Console-ation Prize

Finally! I finally finished painting my bargain console table for the den.  I primed it way back on the 4th of July weekend and it took me until recently to get around to painting it.  Here's the after shot right up front!

We really needed a long console table behind the sectional in the den.  The way the room is laid out is such that there is really no room for an end table next to the one side of the couch.  And those who sit in the middle have no place to put their drinks.  Because one of my favorite things to do is sit on the couch with a cool delicious beverage or a yummy hot cup of coffee while blogging or surfing other blogs, I absolutely needed to take care of this and bring in the right piece of furniture.  When we moved in, I just put the small buffet that used to be in our old dining room.  It served a purpose but was way too small for the space.  See?

So I trolled Craigslist and happened to find a console table that was perfect: perfect size, perfect lines, perfect price ($40).  I totally forgot to snap a before picture, but the color was a medium oak.  Here is the piece with a coat of primer.

It took me a few weeks to get around to it, but I finally did and painted a few coats of high gloss Dover White by Sherwin Williams.  This time, I tried something a little different and added some Floetrol to the paint.  

I've read about Floterol on a bunch of blogs and liked that it is supposed to reduce or eliminate brush strokes.  It works great! I notice a definite difference.  I just used the yellow bucket and poured my Dover White into it, then added a little Floetrol to it, stirred and painted.  I did three coats of the Dover White (two was ok, but I like to be sure the finish is perfect).  Once it was painted and once I gave the Polycrilic a few days to cure, I brought the piece inside.  Here it is now!  It is perfect!  I love the chunky lines of the piece.

I need to get some lamps with white shades for the top of it - it's looking a little bare right now.  But for now, this works.

What do you think? Painting any furniture soon? I am!  I will be painting two tables for my living room in the near term!  They are my coffee table (a West Elm number scored on Craigslist for about $50 with awesome chunky lines but in need of a paint job) and my side table ($19 from IKEA). The coffee table will get a coat of that same glossy Dover White and the side table is probably going to be a little more glam - I'm thinking a brushed metal, maybe nickel, maybe gold!  I'll have to see how that room evolves. 

See you swoon,