So, here we go! I’m back and I’ve got a winner! But first, can I ask you guys a favor? It includes the photos of the red coffee table that I promised. However, I didn’t get my side tables done. I’ll be sure and post photos of those as soon as I can.

So, here’s the coffee table after I took the doors off and sanded it a tad. Being as Abbie-like as you can imagine, I forgot to take photos before I began prepping it. Are you surprised? Uh-huh, that’s what I thought. So an in-process, crooked picture is what you get.

So there!

 

 

It’s that table. The one that it seems everyone had in their homes at some point. In fact, some of you mentioned on Facebook that you currently have it in your home. It’s a staple of our generation, I’d say.

I won’t give you the step-by-step this time, but here’s the gist of it:

I lightly sanded it.

I mixed a 1:1 ratio of Extra-Bond and Salem Red milk paint from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company.

I painted the larger surfaces with a 3″ foam roller and the smaller parts with various sizes of foam brushes.

I beat it up with a putty knife and sandpaper.

Once you guys help me decide on something, I’ll give it 2-3 coats of Clear Coat and then wax it with some Daddy Vans Beeswax and Lavender Furniture Polish.

And that will be that.

So, here she is in all her Salem Red glory!

 

 

I kept the distressing fairly light.

 

 

 

And, without distressing the doors, I put them back on.

 

 

And this is where I need your help.

Doors or no doors…that is the question.

 

If I went doorless, I would patch screw holes and remove those two magnets, and touch up the paint on the inside back wall (the lighting in these pics made me notice a couple of spots I didn’t do well), of course. Maybe even add some narrow trim over those edges (where you currently see screw holes). What do you think of that?

 

 

See, here’s the deal. I’m having some hardware issues. Several of the screws broke off in the wood and some of the holes are stripped. It’s going to require more time, effort and supplies, but it can be fixed, for sure.

However, before I go to all that trouble, let’s think about the possibilities here.

With doors, it can be used for storage (hide clutter, right?) and stays truer to the original design.

Without doors, it could be used to store/display favorite books. Or, according to my kitty, you could a pretty pet bed and create the perfect kitty hideout.

Really, it’s just preference. I need to know what your opinions are on the matter since I’m having commitment issues.

So….

Doors?

 

 

Or no doors?

 

Editing to add: I’m considering/planning to sell this piece. If I decide to keep it, I’ll probably leave the doors off and use it as a Lego table for the kids. That way, we can easily slide tubs of Legos in and out of there. 🙂

Comment below and let me know what you’d do. Pretty please?

OH…right. The winner. How could I forget? 😉

I simply used Random.org to choose a number and it was….

 

 

Congratulations, Vicki! You lucky dog, you! Just send me an email and Anne and I will get you taken care of!

Now, for those of you that scrolled down to see if you won without reading (Oh, come on! It’s cool! We’re all guilty of it sometimes!), please scroll back up and then comment? I need your help, yo!

 

Let’s all say thanks to Anne at The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company for her kindness, generosity and knowledge. She’s been so wonderful and I, for one, am a customer for life. I hope you’ll all take a look around their incredibly informative website and use their product at some point. You won’t regret it…but if you’re just nutty enough to do that, guess what!  They have a “Love it or it’s free” 100% guarantee. Yeah, they’re that great!

Thanks for sticking with me through this, everyone. You are all so appreciated!