Boring Hallway Table Gets Personality With Paint

Thirty years ago, before I knew what furniture style I really liked, I bought traditional dark wood and felt safe with my choices. When the decorating bug bit me years later I knew I didn't want the traditional furniture I had, and I also knew that I couldn't afford to start over! This is the first furniture painting project I tackled now and 15 years later, I still like it. It makes me smile....Take a look, and let me know what you think. :)

This was a big project for a first try. I don't think I'd want to tackle it now! But with the enthusiasm of the young and naive, I marblized the tops and made stripes using tape to separate the colors. The feet are purple, the bands are gold, the legs are green with burgundy and the table edges are a honey brown. Once all the paint had dried I applied gold metallic paint here and there with a stiff dry brush. After a week, I painted the whole with a protectant made for faux painting. It gave the piece a lovely matte finish and blended the different sections so they didn't appear as separately painted sections. Maybe that's why it's called finish? It may sound crazy, but the overall effect is pleasantly subtle. I was under the influence of Mackenzie-Childs at the time and I still love their designs. Check it out. http://www.mackenzie-childs.com/