Refinished Classic Wooden Occasional Table

Sold at a neighborhood art show. Height 22.25 inches, Diameter 14 inches, Weight 6 pounds. As Google says, an occasional table is “a small table for infrequent and varied use.” That seems like a pretty good description of this item. It’s probably a bit too small and short to serve as an end table. Maybe it’d make a good plant stand. It’s certainly light enough to move around your home for wherever and however you want to use it. $125.

The Story

I found this old table curbside just around the corner from my house in the Glover Park neighborhood of D.C. The paint job was pretty bad, and as I found when using a chemical stripper to remove the paint; the reason was that someone had painted over a varnished piece, never a good idea. Still, although that facilitated most of the paint coming off quickly and easily, I still had to spend many hours painstakingly hand-sanding the three pieces, especially in the small grooves, to get it all down to clean, raw wood. The original stain had been kind of orange. I refinished it with a darker, richer stain, Minwax Red Mahogany—although the top piece doesn’t look red at all, due to whatever wood it was made of. (All woods absorb stain differently.) To complete the project, I applied two coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic and reassembled the table.

Related Items: Black Metal Plant Stand with White Mosaic Top, Metal Plant Stand with Colorful Mosaic Top, Wooden Plant Stand with Marble Tile Top.