Since we moved to our new house last year, I’ve been hoarding some old furniture (lots of furniture) ready for a few upcycling projects. I was given a few things from a friend’s mum, who had a garage-load of her late Grandma’s furniture which apparently nobody else in the family had wanted.
She practically begged me to take it from her, so that she could have her garage back. I was somewhat surprised none of the family had wanted it, as lots of the pieces were really good quality! She wouldn’t accept my money, so I sent her the biggest bunch of flowers instead. Seriously blown away with kindness!
Some of the furniture is quite dated for my liking, so I’m planning on giving a few pieces a little transformation, with nothing but paint!
This is the side-table I’ll be painting. It’s made from solid wood, amazing quality and was so well-kept – there wasn’t a single scratch on it! The dark mahogany wood, however, wasn’t quite to my tasting.
I wanted to brighten it up a little and make it a little more modern and contemporary. For this project, I used some chalky finish furniture paint from Rustoleum with a furniture finishing wax over the top.
How to Paint a Geometric Pattern on a Table Top
You Will Need:
- Sandpaper or a Sander
- Masking Tape
- Furniture Paint (I’m using Rustoleum’s Chalk Paint)
- Paintbrush
- Furniture Wax
- Cloth or rag
Step 1 – Sand Down
Since owning this piece of furniture for over a year, it had inevitably received a few little nicks here and there from having tools stored on top of it (I know, I’m terrible!) so I decided to give it a quick sand down to try and remove these little nicks. One of the great things about this paint is that you don’t actually need to sand down the furniture in order for the paint to adhere properly. How great is that?!
After you’ve sanded, make sure to give a thorough wipe down so there’s no traces of dust left on the surface!
Step 2 – Paint
I’ve never used chalk paint before so wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It’s a surprisingly thick formulation, but the coverage is exceptional.
Since it’s so thick, the paint actually masks any little imperfections really well anyway. In the end, I probably didn’t even need to have sanded the table!
The paint is very matt and as the name suggests, it has a very much chalky finish. After just one coat it was already looking noticeably covered! This is the chalk paint I used.
Step 3 – Sand Between Coats
I only needed to apply two coats with a quick sand between each coat before it was looking pretty much finished!
The colour here is Winter Grey, which is a very light grey. After applying the first coat, it looked very white, but after the second coat, you could really see the grey.
Step 4 – Apply Masking Tape to Create a Geometric Design
I wanted to do a bit of a feature on the top of the table, so using masking tape I created a geometric-inspired pattern, simply applying the tape as various angles.
Step 5 – Paint Over the Top in a Different Colour
I then went back over the top where I’d laid out my masking tape and repainted it, but this time in the colour Chalk White.
Step 6 – Remove Masking Tape and Apply Finishing Wax
Once the white had dried, I then pealed the masking tape away and used the finishing wax over the top. This stuff is also really thick, but it kind of ‘melts’ on application. I’ve used a similar wax for kitchen worktops before, but this was much easier to apply as it softens much easier and generally spreads better.
I used just a regular cloth to apply the wax and you can see how it bring out the colour of the paint more, as well as adding a bit of a more sheen finish.
I used just one coat over the whole table, with two coats on the top and two coats on the bottom shelf, as these will get the most use and therefore need the most protection.
This finishing wax is also water repellent and helps to prevent scratches too.
And that’s it! I originally decided to keep the original handle on the drawer, however, I’m not entirely convinced it fits in with the new paint job now that it’s done. What do you think? I may swap this at a later date. Otherwise, here’s the new table, complete with easy DIY geometric tabletop!
I love the new DIY geometric tabletop and I think it gives the table a little bit of an edge. The white paint also helps to bring out the grey too. I’m not quite sure where this piece is going to live in the house – perhaps the smallest bedroom once it’s undergone renovation.
One thing’s for sure though – this new table is now modern, unique and a little bit quirky too. I’m definitely excited to try out more colours and other similar ideas I have!
What do you think to its new look?
*Disclaimer: I was sent products by Rustoleum for the purpose of this post, however, I only recommend products I would personally use and can genuinely recommend!
**This post also contains some affiliate links.
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