Herringbone Side Table Makeover

See how this herringbone side table makeover came to life and our step by step tutorial.

Sometimes things happen that make you want to cry. You cry out of sadness, out of joy, out of sorrow and you cry because of happiness.

This little side table made we want to cry, but out of pure joy and happiness!

Herringbone Side Table Makeover

What started as a really sad little side table quickly became so much more.

A while back my grandma called and said that she had something for me. When I got there, she led me out to the garage. I took home what she called me for (more on that later), but I couldn’t help but notice this beat up little side table. It had definitely seen better days, but there was so much potential that I couldn’t help but ask what she had planned for it.

Music to my ears, she told me I could have it! Insert very happy granddaughter with huge smiles and big hugs.

🙂

I felt the need to forewarn her that I would be painting it. I would hate it if she felt that I was going to keep it that way, only for her to come over and see it completely made over. Luckily, she didn’t care.

I proudly packed that table into our house, for I knew what was going to happen in its near future.

Not too long ago, KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms posted this lovely table with a herringbone paint stick top. For me, It was love at first sight and I knew that if I ever found the right piece, I was, without a doubt, giving it the same type of makeover.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Here’s how I turned that sad table into a smashing beauty.

The weekend that I decided to tackle this project, our local Ace Hardware was offering a free quart of paint. I took full advantage of it and had them mix Ashwood by Benjamin Moore. It’s such a soft color. It speaks to me. I’m already itching to use it somewhere else too.

Since I’m also BFF’s with the paint department (I’m not kidding, they know they’re in business when I walk in…), I asked if I could have several 5 gallon paint stirrer sticks. They’re much thicker and longer than the regular gallon sticks, making them the perfect choice for this project.

Honestly, I felt a little guilty asking my BFF for like 20 stirrer sticks, so I offered to pay for them. They looked at me like I was crazy and handed over about 20 of them and probably 15 regular stir sticks. I am now selling them… kidding! I’ll find something else to make with them!

Because this table had such lovely legs, I didn’t want to have excess paint build up in all the curves, so I mainly dry brushed the entire thing. Meaning, I hardly had any paint on the brush as I painted. I had to do several coats, but since each coat was very light I was able to minimize the brush strokes and paint build up.

It turned out awesome!

Such an improvement!

Once the paint dried, I removed the original tile top and we added a piece of wood to make the top flush once more.

With the new top in place we cut all our stirrer sticks into 5 inch pieces.

I taped off about an inch around the top of the table as a guide and way to keep the pattern balanced… then we started laying them out in a harringbone pattern.

Once they were even and level, we kept repeating the pattern.

Then we used our nail gun to secure them in place. We could have used wood glue, but I lack the patience that it demands. When I want a project done, it should have been completed yesterday. Watching wood glue dry doesn’t fit into my time frame.

We kept adding the pattern, trying to get all whole pieces secured in place first.

With all of the whole pieces nailed down, we started on the pieces that would need to be cut.

We kept adding and cutting…

Adding and cutting…

Until we were left with this:

We were short about 2 paint sticks… seriously!

The next morning I headed back to Ace and was given more paint sticks by said BFF.

We kept up the theme from the night before: adding and cutting.

Finally, we had all the pieces in place, leaving us with one beautiful top!

Before I moved onto the next step, I grabbed an end piece of the paint stick and rubbed on a couple choices of stain. I was seriously loving the natural look.

While I tried to make my mind up, I started filling all the nail holes and minor gaps with stainable wood filler.

Easy, peasy! Just like patching holes with putty.

I waited for it to dry, then sanded it smooth. I also sanded all the sides making them as flush as possible.

I gave it a good wipe down and then used cheesecloth to remove any extra dust.

To prepare for staining, I taped off all the edges with painters tape.

I decided on using Early American by Minwax, but the Golden Pecan was my second choice.

I started wiping on the stain, keeping in mind how quickly these paint sticks absorb stain.

A couple of light coats later, I had this!

Once the stain dried, I gave it two heavy coats of satin clear finish. I’m still debating on going back and using a gloss.

I let it dry, then brought it inside.

I am beyond thrilled with how it turned out. It’s basically my favorite new thing.

And did I mention that it was an entirely FREE project? Yep. Free!

Goodness!

Such a perfect pattern on top…

Paired with some seriously lovely legs….

Makes for a fabulous makeover!

Honestly, I still can’t believe that it was completely free. My head is spinning. Every time I walk by it, I feel like I’m looking at an expensive piece of furniture.

Such a rewarding project! And the power of paint is unbelievably amazing…

I’m off to admire my new side table and possibly find another piece of furniture to make another one……..

🙂