The Yellow Table

Last Thursday, I dropped Chris off for a 10-day underway and when I got into the neighborhood, I saw a coffee table sitting on the side of the road. It was kind of beat-up, with child-proof latches on the drawers and dog scratches on the legs. I saw a blank canvas and got excited. Unfortunately, try as I might, I couldn't get the heavy table into my car. I was crushed.

Fast forward 15 minutes and after some Facebook encouragement from a fellow Navy wife, I threw some old quilts onto the back seat and sped back there, praying all 3 blocks that it still be there. 

There it sat, begging for a fresh coat of paint and loving owners. 

After 20 minutes of huffing and puffing, about 10 unhelpful neighbors had driven by and I finally got the table into my backseat! I can't describe how triumphant I felt! 

So, I'd like to share its transformation from worn-out veteran of children's sticky fingers and bored little doggies to a beautiful sun-shiney entryway bench for a cute pair of newlyweds. 

     First,  I removed the hardware (one very loose knob!), pried the safety latches off and took out the drawers. 

Then I sanded the whole thing down. That helped a lot with the scratches. 

Next, I sprayed a coat of primer all over. The primer filled in the rest of the scratches. 

After a second trip to Home Depot to get the perfect yellow, I applied two thin coats of Behr Sunburst. 

 Bought some pretty hardware for the drawers. 

Here she is in her new home, our entryway! 

And here's a close-up of the wall decor. See my friend, the elephant? 

I can't wait to show Chris when he gets home this weekend. Usually we come in the laundry room door, but the past few days, I've been coming in our main door. It's much nicer to be greeted by a joyful elephant and bursts of color rather than piles laundry! 

Any do-it-yourself projects in your future? Do tell!