A Great Console-ation
About six months after moving in to Serenity, I became obsessed with the idea of finding a console table to go behind the sectional. The little chest I used as a place holder was great, but it had another destiny; namely, as an ottoman for our covered patio. (Originally, I had found it on Craigslist for $5, painted it, upholstered it, and intended to use it as a covered littler box. I think our kitties are much happier that their facilities are open air.) Even if I didn’t need to use this piece elsewhere, I don’t think I would have wanted to keep in there permanently. It just looks a bit too anticlimactic next to the massive couch.
So I Craigslisted. And OfferUp-ed. And thrift shopped. After about eight months and many miles on my truck (come to think of it, if I had just saved the money I spent on gas looking for this thing, maybe I could have bought a new one), I finally found a perfect specimen of a console table.
It even has drawers, y’all! Sure, it was in pretty decent shape as it was, but I needed something that would contrast a bit more with the brown of the sectional and the brown of the floor. I also wanted something that wouldn’t show dirt as easily. Aaaannnd, half the fun of buying something second hand is seeing it transformed. So there’s that.
Some people love the process. I’m much more of a before-and-after, spare me the process kinda girl. To be honest, I rarely love the actual work of refinishing something. If I’m sufficiently in love what the thing could be, then I put up with the tedium of transformation. So, long story short, after triumphantly carting my prize home, I sanded it, primed, painted, and antiqued the base, then stained and sealed the top. And I am in love with the results.
I love the way the antique glaze brings out the detail in the posts, as opposed to hiding them in a blob of mahogany-toned wood. Even the knobs that came with it look better to me against the new finish. I had originally planned to replace them, but they play so well with the over all scheme that they have convinced me they belong. This thrift store find serves as a wonderful console table and also as a consolation for the months of searching and days of dusty work spent on refreshing this piece.