an antiqued side table.

A while back, my BFF Michelle decided to test the thrifting waters out in the Monroe/Middletown area where she lives. Don't worry, we discuss the necessity of moving back toward the city daily.

Anyway, while shopping, we came across this little gem for $14.

It was so perfect and so wrong all at the same time. Naturally we scooped it up and finally got around to refinishing it this past weekend.

P.S. Look at all those amazing chairs behind it! I can't remember the name of the thrift store but trust me, Middletown and Monroe have some  sweet shops.

Since the side table would be going into the living room, we took a look at what the space needed before we decided what we should do with it. Michelle's space could use some brightening up and a way to break up all the wood tones within the space. 

So we sanded off the shellac top and sanded down the rest of the finish on the piece, primed and painted the perfect shade of off-white.

We definitely liked where it was headed but wanted to accentuate all the awesome detailing in a way that fit with Michelle's comfy cottage style. So we grabbed an old can of stain (MinWax's Dark Walnut, of course), a paintbrush and some old rags and got to work. 

First, we glopped (literally... glopped) on the stain all over the piece. Then, we took our rags and wiped off as much or as little stain as we wanted. Finally, we grabbed a clean rag and very lightly wiped a clear satin coat of polyurethane to secure the stain onto the table. 

So cute, right?! I also found this BOMB table from one of my favorite thrift stores, Vintage Market & Thrift, that continues to add different textures into the space. As you can see, the antiquing definitely helps tie the two pieces together and starts to bring that warm, cottage look and feel into the space. 

I'm loving the way the table turned out and am pretty much on the hunt for another one so I can do the same thing in my apartment!