Cupboard Door Table (and my near-miss attempt at chalk painting)

Tada!! Here is the antique cupboard door-turned coffee table that my Renaissance Merman assembled for me over the weekend.

He is much more adept at using power tools than I am, and when not golfing or watching sports on tv, he's a very willing handyman - yea!

One of these days, I'm going to plan a project from inception and then execute it all the way to completion without wondering how it ended up not looking as I had planned. Yep, this is another one of my brilliant ideas that turned out differently than my original vision. I began the search for the perfect door...of course there were certain factors to consider. Like size, price, and that I wanted it done "yesterday". So here is the one I ended up with.

Do you think I could remember to take a picture of it in its original state so that you could see where it started? (Ummmm, nope.) It had layers of sky-blue and lemon-yellow paint, which if I were into pastels would have been really awesome, but that's not so much my "thing"........ Here it is with one coat of some chalk paint that I had on hand (thinking I would create one of those masterpieces that I've seen all over the web?)

OK, this is where things start to veer off of the vision. You see, I really do love all of those beautiful chalk-painted projects that talented people everywhere are creating! But then my "gut" spoke up and said "Julie, this isn't your look. You're an eclectic, but shiny-paint girl." So in the end, I went with what I know works for me. And here, in all its glory, is my version of a vintage painted table.

Even after sanding with the power sander (I did that part myself - yea, me!) there is a lot of chippy paint layered under the coats of black. But I don't mind, because I still wanted the door to look old (otherwise I would have bought a smooth new door.) And I chose not to sand off any painted edges to give it a worn look because, honestly, I didn't want it to look too rustic.

These legs were simply unfinished table legs and metal brackets purchased at Lowe's. The tricky part was finding the correct height (I really wanted chunkier legs, but they were all too short, darn it!) These actually coordinate well with my little green side table, though, so all is well I guess.

And who says that a vintage door table can't be dressed up with a touch of metallic gold? This I did by just brushing liquid leaf onto the bottoms of the legs, and I dabbed a little on the latch, too. I quickly tried to wipe some off of the latch because I did want that to retain its aged look (but believe me, this liquid leaf dries fast! Not much time to second guess your choices there.)

The basket was one I had picked up at a tag sale a couple of years ago. It had always held the dozens (and dozens) of pairs of my daughter's old pointe shoes in her bedroom. But I think it has found a new life as the perfect storage spot for cozy blankets and pillows out here.

The only thing left to do now is curl up on the sofa with a summery snack and a good book. Ahhhhh......


Sharing with Ivy and Elephants, Lamberts Lately, Paper and Fox, The Dedicated House, Life in Velvet, Revisionary Life, Share Your Cup Thursday, From My Front Porch to Yours, Shabby Art Boutique, Redoux Interiors, French Country Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Charm of Home, Natasha in Oz, Pieced Pastimes, Rustic and Refined