Thrifted Coffee Table Makeover | Trashtastic Treasures

Today I’m sharing this cute thrifted coffee table makeover that I did for my daughter’s new Miami apartment, and would you believe I paid $8 for it?

Hey friends!  Oh my gosh I have missed you guys!  I have spent 2 of the last four weeks traveling and one of those weeks painting kitchen cabinets.  So I have been a little absent from the blog.  But over the past few weeks I’ve made some awesome memories with my family, and that is really what life is all about, so I can’t apologize for that!  But I’m so happy to be back to blogging this week and I have a really fun thrifted coffee table makeover to share with you, and a peek at my daughter’s new apartment in Miami!

Let me start by showing you a couple of before photos of this coffee table I found at a thrift store in Miami.  Everyone who worked in the store spoke Spanish only, so it was a little difficult for me to get this out of the store, but I persevered.  I saw an $8 tag on this coffee table, and it was sitting underneath some other furniture in the store.  It looked to me like the top was a solid surface of some type, and I thought for sure the tag was wrong, so I had to enquire about it.

When I finally figured out that it was only $8, I could not get it to my car fast enough.  And then there was the whole bit of my trying to communicate with people who speak no English, while I speak no Spanish (a lot of good that two years of taking Spanish classes in high school did me!) and trying to get one of them to load this into my car for me.  But we finally understood each other enough to get the job done, and I was on my way home with a coffee table in the back seat of my daughter’s Honda Accord.

I liked the lines of the legs on the table, and I liked that it was a rattan material o bottom and a solid surface on top.  Any guesses as to what it is?  Granite?  Quartz?  I don’t really know, but this is a very heavy table.  I thought it had a subtle beachy vibe and I knew I could give it a new life.  Luckily it got the approval of my daughter when she arrived home from work, LOL.  As you can see it the photo below, I had already taped off around the top when I remembered to take before photos.

Thrifted Coffee Table Makeover

What I used:

Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint – Home Depot

Americana Decor Clear Creme Wax – Home Depot

2 inch angled paint brush

Painter’s Tape

Lint Free Rag

Clorox Wipes

 

How I Made Over The Table:

This was a fairly simple makeover.  Let me break it down to you in list form.

• Clean the entire table really well.  I used Clorox wipes for this because I did not have access to a bucket of soapy water or rags.  You would not believe how filthy dirty this table was!  And I didn’t even realize it until I started cleaning it.  Wait for it to dry thoroughly before painting.
• Tape the top of the table off so you don’t get paint on the top.  I bought this table specifically because it had a high quality top, so I wanted to protect that.  After you apply the painters tape, make sure to go over the edge of the tape really well with a credit card or even your finger nail.  That is what seals the tape and helps it to not bleed.
• Paint the base with the white chalky paint- I gave this table two coats of paint.
• Remove the painters tape while the paint is still wet.
• After paint is dry, use a paintbrush to apply a light coat of the clear wax.
• After the wax is dry, buff the bottom down with a lint free rag.

I ran into one little snag with painting this table.  If you look in the photo above, you can see there is a dark brown stripe right at the base of the table top.  For starters, when I removed the painters tape, I did not have a clean line, which was probably my fault.  You need to go over your tape with a credit card or something really well to ensure that you don’t get any bleeding.

In addition to the fact that I didn’t get a clean line, I did not like that brown stripe with the freshly painted white legs and base.  So I decided to tape off that brown stripe and paint it white.  I really was meticulous this time about taking my fingernail and rubbing all along the edge of the tape so I would have a very clean line, and it worked!  I was so much happier after I painted over that line!  You can see the difference in the above and below pictures.

I just think this is the cutest little table now!  I am so happy with this thrifted coffee table makeover.  The bright white base makes the top pop, and it goes really well with my daughter’s new apartment and the decor they are shooting for.  If it isn’t totally obvious yet, she and her roommate are going for a neutral look.

This was not my first experience using this chalky finish paint.  You can also see it used on my vintage trunk makeover and our mudroom bench and shelf makeover.

I’m also going to give you a little tour of their living room.  I spent a significant amount of time alone while I was in Miami visiting my daughter, because she and her roommate both worked each day.  My daughter had one day off and we spent it at the beach.  So while she was at work I kept myself entertained.

I did go out and buy them a few things to make the place feel a little more like home, and I admit, I did steal things from other rooms to style this room for this photo shoot.  I was alone in the apartment, so I shopped the place and did my best to make this feel more like a finished space.  But after the photo shoot, I had to put everything back where I found it.  It was fun while it lasted, ha!  I found the storage box on top of the coffee table at Target.  It’s part of the Hearth & Hand Line.

Cream storage box

This is my daughter’s and her roommate’s first adult apartment.  She did live in apartments in college, but this is first first time paying her own rent and being an adult with a full time job.  Her roommate is from Miami, but my daughter moved there with only what she could fit into her car.  So she didn’t have a lot to contribute.

All of the furniture belongs to her roommate.  I believe the new sofa was a brand new gift from a family member, and the rest were hand me downs.  The gorgeous rug beneath the coffee table was gift to her from her aunt who worked for Chanel all of her life.  It is genuine, and she didn’t want it under the coffee table because she was afraid food might get spilled on it.  So after this photo shoot, I removed it.  But it sure looks beautiful there!

So I wanted to get them a few things so that they could be on their way to having a finished space.  I also found the lamp at the same thrift store for $8, and it was in perfect shape.  I bought the lampshade at Home Depot.

Lampshade

I bought the pillow on the left for my daughter in a thrift store here in WV.  We were shocked to find it in a thrift store because it is totally on trend right now.  The striped pillows and blanket were stolen from my daughters bed.

Cream storage box

I’m still shocked as I write this that I bought this coffee table for $8!  I hope my daughter gets use out of it for a couple of years.  When I asked her what I should look for when I went to some thrift stores, so specifically requested a coffee table because all they really had was a sofa and some shelves.  After I brought the coffee table home, her roommate pulled out this little cube from her bedroom, and it was very surprising how well it went with the coffee table top!

There are two tall shelves that are on either side of the glass doors.  I bought some little succulents to put on each shelf just so they weren’t empty.

I also found the large cloche with a cute little birdie on top.  This was $3 at the same thrift store.  This, I wanted to bring home but that would have been impossible.  This little mirrored console table also belongs to my daughter’s roomie.  It serves as a place to lay down keys or mail on the way into the apartment.

Visiting my daughter in Miami really set my mind at ease.  I was able to stay with her in her apartment, and get to know her little suburb, and it felt like a quiet, safe little haven.  She lives in a very quiet apartment complex not even a mile from the Nordstrom where she works.  I was happy that I was able to do a few things for them to make them feel more like home.  And I’m sure I’ll squeeze in a little project for her on my next visit as well.

What do you think of the thrifted coffee table makeover?  I think it fits in with what they have and looks like a high quality piece of furniture.  Have you found any unbelievable deals at thrift stores?  What is your favorite find?  Please share in the comments!  I am working on a couple of trip report posts from my visit to Miami and our vacation to New York that I hope to share soon.  So stay tuned for that!

If you like it, then you wanna put a pin on it!

Do you have champagne taste and a tiny budget too?
Love fashion, DIY, crafting, all things vintage and thrifty? Stick with me, I’ve got you covered!
Sign up to get my posts delivered to your inbox here

Follow me here:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Bloglovin / Google + Stumbleupon

You may also like:

Painting Laminate Furniture With Chalk Paint

Vintage Trunk Makeover

Vintage Mid Century Modern Record Player Makeover