I rescued this lovely:( round leather coffee table from the side of the road in the rain a couple of weeks ago, Aside from the leather being in not so great shape and a bit wobbly, the rest of the table looked to be solid and well made! I threw it in my truck, brought it home and tried my best to hide it from my husband who now hums the “Sanford and Son” theme song whenever I bring any more furniture home!

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do to it right away, I usually wait a bit for inspiration to strike! I look on Pinterest and other blogs and websites for inspiration. I knew that the leather had to come off because it had too much damage but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do on there to  highlight the center.

 

 

The leather had been gouged and torn in many places. Luckily I just started pulling up the leather and it peeled off very easily. Underneath was in fine condition. I filled and sanded down any deep divots in the surface.

I took the legs off the piece, cleaned the whole piece very well and then sanded and cleaned again.  I made my own chalk paint with some calcium carbonate and water and  some  flat latex paint I had leftover from another project. The color was Polished Pearl by Behr.  Here it is with the leather off and the first coat of the chalk paint.

 

Originally I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in the center so I left it unpainted at first.  Then I decided to paint the center the same as the rest of the table.

 

Not the best shot, but you get the idea. Here its all painted in the Polished Pearl chalk paint.  Because it is white, it needed about 3 coats of paint, sanded in between each coat.

 

Then inspiration struck! I had gotten some stencils for Christmas from my mom that I had been wanting for some time and I decided to use the  old french script stencil in the center of the table.  I just used some black acrylic paint I got from Michael’s.

 

Here is the top halfway done, and it looks so pretty with the stencil on there. You just need to make sure to line up the marks at the top and bottom so you stay straight.

 

 

I started the stencil in the center at the bottom and worked my way up to the top.  I didn’t tape along the outline of the circle, I just touched up the edge of the table with some chalk paint any areas I had applied any black paint by accident.  I used a stencil brush being sure to take off any excess paint on a paper towel before applying the paint in a stippling motion.  I wanted a faded look here and there, I didn’t want it looking too new.

 

 

 

And here it is!! I distressed the edges with a sanding sponge and did a light sanding over the stencil as well.  I let it dry a day or two before applying and buffing  2-3 coats of   Johnson’s Paste Wax over the entire piece.

 

Just a close up to see the wood showing through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the next time you see a yucky looking table on the side of the road, don’t pass it by! It can become something beautiful again! Good luck out there!