Hello darling. I did a thing, and good lord, she is beautiful! I was shopping at Urban Ore, like you do, and was trying to find a headboard for our queen size bed. I couldn’t find what I was looking for, and the copper bed set still had a Sold sign on it, so that was a no go. I went over to the table section and came across this beautifully shaped but sadly abused table. I felt like she was giving “I’ve seen some stuff” vibes and I could justify the $95 price tag. I was going to strip this baby down, give her new life, and use her as a head board.
The Mother and I started to plot the best method for fixing this beauty up. I wanted to buy stripper and remove the varnish and stain prior to sanding her down. I went on-line and found a highly rated stripper that was supposed to work beautifully. I used 3 cans of stripper and 3 full days and it didn’t make the slightest dent in the finish. I don’t know if it was a faulty product, I missed a step, or it was just too cold in the garage, but nothing happened. I was not happy. So after wasting time and money, I agreed with both Mother and the Husband that sanding was going to be our only hope. So we started sanding. We had to buy two new sanders, and use both the circular sander and the belt sander. The Husband was an angel and he stripped the top, the Mother and I did the rest. We couldn’t get all the varnish at the very top of the legs off, due to the curves, nor the cutouts. In the end, I sanded down the texture in the cutouts and left them two-toned. I hymned and hawed about whether I wanted to stain the table or not. There were many different types of wood used to create this table, and each would have taken stain differently. In addition, there had been some repair done in the past and the wood glue would have stuck out against the wood grain. In the end I decided to smoothly sand it and coat it with clear varnish. Ladies and Gentlemen, here she is!
At some point, I will get better pictures and do her justice. I love this table. I love the idea and the execution of this table. I am proud that even though I got super frustrated with the stripping, I figured it out (with help) and moved on. I am NOT a distressed, shabby chic person in the slightest, but I really love how this table has character and history. I am very happy that I went with my gut and kept the wood natural. Aside from the fact that I think it would have been a beast to get the stain even, I could have taken away some of her natural charms. I am so happy with this table/ headboard, and it may have inspired me to finally work on the curb-gnome table that I picked up last summer (that has been taking up room in the garage).
So, here she is and she’s beautiful! I’m excited for the next upcycle!
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 