"Z" projects

At the beginning of March I wrote my list of things I wanted to get done before baby came. There were important things to do, things my dad refers to as "A" projects, but for some reason I focused in on a "Z" project that I had wanted to do for years. This is definitely something I have seen my mother Rita do numerous times, so it really wasn't my fault when I couldn't get it out of my mind.

The project? Paint this coffee table that I bought four years ago at Saver's for $20. I had always meant to paint it, but was afraid I would ruin it. After finding some really good furniture painting tutorials online, I felt like it was now or never and I went for it.

 

Before

While I was at it, I decided to also paint an end table I picked up at the local Goodwill for $12. Here she is in all her glory:

Before

We live in such a small apartment that I knew I had to paint the tables out on our porch. That meant I had to have sunny days, which come and go in Oregon. But I went for it. Saturday night I bought all my supplies at Home Depot and I started painting Monday during nap time (there was no way Nayeli was going to let me paint without getting in on the action). By Monday night I had sanded, cleaned, primed and put two coats on. The paint was a little whiter than I had wanted but I didn't have the time or energy to go get a different color. White it was.

Ben took this Monday night as I painted after Nayeli was in bed.

As I painted late that night, Ben told me, "You are your mother's daughter". Most definitely. I can't count how many times I have seen my mom stay up late to paint something or finish some project. Thanks for the inspiration Mom :) I must say though that painting low tables while 36 weeks pregnant was torture on my back. Not something I would recommend.

Tuesday morning I awoke at 6am to hear rain pitter-pattering outside. I panicked. Although our porch is covered, I was worried the wind would blow the water in and ruin all my hard work. I jumped out of bed and pulled the tarp and furniture inside. I then stayed up to put a layer of varnish on both tables. Ben told me he'd never seen me be so exuberant at 6am about anything before. He's probably right.

It was hard putting the varnish on inside the house- I had to take Nayeli out of the house practically all day to keep her from touching the furniture. Plus I had to put a fan on to help it dry and it blew little fibers all over the top of each piece. So if you ever see the final products in person, don't look too close :)

And the final masterpiece. Drumroll please...

Didn't it turn out beautifully? It was worth all the backache. I replaced the knob with a fun one from Anthropologie. I am so pleased with the final look.

Here is the end table during...

...and after. Not a great picture since it's been confined to the toy corner for the time being. But I'm also so happy with the final product.

And as for those "A" projects? As my mom would say, the A's always get done eventually so you have to take the time every once in awhile to do the Z's. Besides, those are always the most fun projects to do.