French end table gets a new 'do.

I picked up this little end table for a song at one of my favorite Salvation Army's at the end of last month.  It was in perfect condition, but was dated.  It had a lot going for it though.  Great legs, great hardware, dovetailed construction, all wood...except for the top.  Unfortunately, it was a wood frame with a caramel color leather insert with gold leaf around the edges.

I was a horrible blogger throughout this and didn't take pictures with my nice camera until the end, so I'll force you to suffer through poor quality phone photos again.

Anyhow, this is how it looked when I brought it home.  If it could talk, I could just imagine it saying "blah."

I went right to work sanding it down, and pulled the leather insert out of the top.

I decided to do a two tone look on the table, so I stained the top, and primed and painted the bottom.  I distressed the edges, and glazed it with a burnt umber glaze mix.  I liked how it looked, but couldn't decide what I wanted to do with that insert.  

So, it sat in my dining room for about a week.  I had thought about a mirror, but it's a pretty shallow insert, and any mirror would have stuck up too high-- plus I just didn't think it would look right with the rest of the style.  Then I thought of painting a design in the center, but I didn't like the idea of leaving the press board exposed, even covered in paint.  Then I found what I was sure would be the ticket.  

Paintable textured wallpaper.

I picked up a roll of this pretty textured wallpaper for $14 at Menards.  The amount I used didn't even make a dent in the roll, so it'll last for many projects to come.  I cut it to fit, and applied it to the insert section the way you would apply it to a wall.  I primed, painted, and glazed it the way I did the bottom of the table, but I didn't like the contrast.  It was just too extreme, and the burnt umber next to the jacobean stain I used on the top was just, yuck.

It occurred to me that if I wanted it to match the rest, I should just stain it.  I was worried about what the result would be, but thought if it didn't work out, I'd just remove it and cut a new piece.  I stained it twice to get a nice dark color that matched the rest of the table top.  The nice thing about the texture on this is that the stain naturally ran down off the high points, leaving them a little lighter, and giving it nice depth.

Once the stain was dry, I went over the entire table with a few coats of polycrylic to protect it.  I left the hardware as it was (just washed it with soap and water), and it's ready to go to a new home!

So, here's the before again (I know...this is SUCH a bad picture.  I'm sorry, friends.)

And after!

Don't you love the extra interest the wallpaper gave it, and how the hardware really pops out from the white?

Stay tuned.  I still have to share some really fun pieces I picked up this week!

Linking to some (lots of) parties:
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Time to Shine Tuesday @ A Diamond in the Stuff
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Swing Into Spring Wednesday @ DIY by Design 
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday @  Primitive & Proper
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage