A Bed for Casey

I fell in love with coffee/side tables that have been re-purposed into dog beds and although I don't have a dog of my own right now it didn't stop the urge to make one.  I couldn't quite get SF to buy into the project since we don't have one and my argument that we had a friend who had a dog didn't weaken his resistance.  I knew for me to make this happen it would have to cost next to nothing so he couldn't argue...right?

Pinterest and the blogs I visit have all been a buzz about this stuff called chalk paint and the technique of using the chalk paint and sealing/finishing it with wax.  There are specialty paints and waxes that can be purchased on the internet through bloggers and dealers but it's pretty expensive. And, well...I'm cheap frugal and would never spend the money to buy it when I'm buying Ooops paint from the Mart and Menards for my painting projects.  There are also lots of DIY versions of the chalk paint that I'd seen and I was on the verge of taking the plunge when I came across this blog post where she compared 2 DIY versions against the real thing and I was convinced. 

One of shopping trips to the ReStore, as I've blogged about here, netted this ugly side table that had seen better days.  It must have had some trim on the corners that had been removed. 

I looked at the price, $5...wow, it sure was in rough shape but luckily it was a yellow tag item which was 50% off!  I could hardly pass that deal up.  After all I was just gonna turn it upside down anyway for my project.  All I needed now was something to make legs out of and I was sure in my bucket-o-spindles & posts that would work.

 

 Although she was ugly and well loved but she still had gorgeous legs!  I found some old table legs in my bucket-o-stuff and SF screwed them to the top for me.

I mixed up a batch of chalk paint, using the plaster of paris recipe, in a greenish color that I think will fit into the rest of Liz's decor and I got to painting.  The joy of this chalk paint is there is no sanding or prepping before...you just paint.

 

I put two coats on and let it dry then began to distress the edges and spots that would get worn naturally.  I distressed lightly just to reveal the raw wood beneath.  I gave it a coat of wax and let it dry and then buffed it.  The wax truly did transform the paint and buffed to a nice sheen. 

Once I had it all buffed then I wanted to darken it slightly but didn't have the dark wax called for so I used some antiquing glaze and just painted the entire piece and then wiped it off, leaving the glaze left in the grooves and nooks of the table.

I liked the results and it toned down the green a bit as well.  I took the little legs off to paint separately and then got to waxing and buffing the table and legs again.

It's hard to capture the difference buffing the wax has on the paint with my cheap camera so this is the best I could get.

*Happy photo edit gone wrong pic but it turned out cool so I'm including it*

This pic was just to see what it would look like and I had something to send to Facebook.  The sun was just right so it shows the finish really well.  I found some pillow shams that matched relatively well and made the bed and put it out in the yard to photograph.

By the time I got back outside with my camera, my shadow Chester had figured this must be his new bed and was making himself pretty comfy.

He was pretty sure that bed was his and protested when I told him to get off.

I hope Miss Casey likes it just as much!