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February 5, 2012

Anthropologie-Inspired Side Table Makeover

Pin It                                            Who's ready for another furniture revamp?
If you've been following along, you might know that I love to
 try new things with paint (check out my Patchwork Table
Revamp and my Pie Safe Makeover to see some of my 
latest creations.) 

Well, since the switch to yellow accents in my house, 
I have felt the need to change the rest of my painted
furniture so it doesn't look so rainbow-ey.

So where did I look for my inspiration? That gorgeous
Anthropologie catalog. Not quite in my budget to buy their 
furniture at $900 + a piece, but this DIY girl didn't mind 
getting her hands dirty to make a version of her own. 


Here are a few of their
furniture pieces that inspired me for my project:

Anthro
"Twisted Roots Alter Ego Chair", Anthropologie

"Kasbah End Table", Anthropologie




I loved the distressing techniques the designers used and different
layers of paint peeking through. I had already done a patchwork paint technique before, 
so I felt confident to take a vintage thrift store find of mine to transform.

So, this is what I decided to work with, my Mod Podged Vintage Songbird Table
Cute, right? Now you might be thinking, why would I mess with a good thing?
Don't hate me for what I decided to do with it...


I decided to strip it. Little did I know how messy it would be
to work with. (my husband did warn me...but I can be stubborn.)   
For some reason, all of the paint wouldn't come off completely, 
even after two applications of spray stripper.

 And then the directions said to use steel wool to rub off the 
sludge but because there were so many layers of paint a 
lot of the goo still stayed on. 

I was about ready to kick this table to the curb. But after
a few days to think and take a break, I decided to 
try and sand off some of the flaky paint. 

By this time the paint had time to dry and it was much 
easier to remove with my electric sander. Yes! 



All I wanted at this point was for a somewhat smooth 
surface to work with. I also used my Dremel wire brush
 attachment to try to remove extra chunks of paint.
 (This was becoming my labor of love!) 

So after the paint was mostly smooth, I covered small sections 
in aqua, tangerine and yellow eggshell latex paint in the 
patchwork technique I had used before. 
(Sorry I don't have pictures of this part-I still wasn't sure if 
the table would survive my "surgery".) 


But, after letting my patchwork sections dry, I decided to
paint the entire table in pale gray paint. Yes, even the little
songbirds got covered. 

And after waiting a day for that to dry, turned on my 
electric sander to see if it would be a disaster or a masterpiece....





But, I was so pleasantly surprised by my results! 




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So, after sanding through the top layer, the soft paint colors were revealed. 
(A lot like those Anthro pieces I loved!)
And, my Mod Podged song pages and birds were intact! After a spraying
of Deco Art acrylic sealer, my table was done! 

It reminded me of an old barn that had been painted,
then weathered by the elements for decades. 
(I think I love it even more than I did before!)
I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to showing you
a few more Anthropologie inspired projects I have up my sleeve! 



P.S. It's not too late to enter my huge giveaway of a gorgeous handcrafted European enamel 
house sign, if you haven't done so already. Scroll down the page to enter and winner will be announced on Fri. Feb. 10th! 


Linking up with these parties and this party.


48 comments:

  1. Oh wow this looks absolutely amazing! It's great that you used so many colors on it. It's so pretty! Where is it going in your house?

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    1. Hi! Thank you-glad you like it! It is going on the side of my couch next to my bay window (if you've gone to the peek in my house tab, it is formerly the bright green table--now, if I only could find another one similar to this one! )

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  2. Amazing work. It's has a charm that ya just don't see very often. Puts a smile on my face.:)

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    1. Thank you, Lesley! I really appreciate your kind words-glad it puts a smile on your face-it does for me too!

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  3. Fabulous! I have a small demi-lune table that I'm thinking about redoing - your table is a good place to start!

    Right now I'm in the middle of refinishing my bathroom vanity - from brown wood to high gloss white with glass knobs. Loving it.

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  4. That is beautiful. I love how you staged it outside. Great photo. :D

    I wanted to thank you for following me. :) Have you seen my new place?! It's so pretty if I do say so myself :) Hope you'll follow me there.

    MySerendipitousLife.com

    I'm following you too :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Karla! and you're welcome-I will check out your new place!

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  5. Hi Kristina

    Thanks for dropping by my little blog project and "following" it. As a small blog, I truly appreciate each and every follower. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. Have a great day!

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    1. Hi Heather,

      No problem -I really loved how you finished your cabinet! I agree with you there-love my followers. "See" you around!

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  6. This is so great! You did an amazing job and I love the way you took pics with it! I just love the bird accents too!

    I would love for you to stop by our first ever link party: Naturally-Nifty Linky Party #1 and link up this great project and any more you have!

    http://natural-nester.blogspot.com/2012/02/naturally-nifty-party-1.html

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  7. WOW! I mean seriously I'm totally amazed! You did awesome work Kristina! I LOVE it so much!!! Hmm...what can I makeover in my house to be anthro-ish!!? I'm totally inspired!

    XO, Aimee

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    1. Thank you Aimee! I really appreciate your support! I'm really glad I didn't have to toss this to the curb after all. I agree-want to make over so many things Anthro style too! Take care, Kristina

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  8. What a awesome piece, I love how you took the pictures out side too :) great job

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    1. Thank you Leslie for stopping by and for your kind comment!

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  10. absolutely LOVE it!!! fun and whimsical and unique!

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    1. Thank you, Cassie! I really appreciate the support! and, I think when I run out of furniture to make over in my house I might start a little shop!

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  11. Well done - it looks awesome! I love a good Antro knock off!

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    1. Thank you, Laurel-I agree Anthro style is amazing and inspiring!

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  12. Drooling over your side-table! I love it!

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  13. Love it so much better with the 'old' look. Great job!!!

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  14. I like your version WAY better! Great job!

    I would LOVE it if you'd link this up at Feature Friday FREE-FOR-ALL going on right now!

    http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2012/02/feature-friday-free-for-all-6-little.html

    Hope to see you soon!


    ~Abbie

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  15. You did such a fabulous job on this table!! The painting is so fabulous. I love it!! Thanks for linking up to Think Pink Sundays - I featured you today! http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/02/crush-of-the-week-think-pink-features-39/

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  16. this looks great! Loving the whimsical birds on the front! Very Anthro for sure!

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  17. that table is lovely! Great job, I know sometimes we have a vision for a piece and the furniture takes a turn of it's own and winds up better than what we imagined for it!

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    1. Thank you, Beth! I agree with you there on having a vision and how it really turns out-so glad I didn't have to trash this-thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment :)

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  18. Thanks for linking up!! Great job!


    XO, Aimee

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  19. I love this so much!! Anthropologie makes me so happy. I can spend a lot of time in that store gathering inspiration!

    This is perfect!

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  20. great finish - I like how the birds come through the paint - like an old vintage photograph.

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    1. Thank you-great description too! I want to make a few more pieces like this one.

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  21. I like this better than the Anthropologie ones!

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  22. This is super cute. I've been doing things like this for a long while. Instead of spending several hundred on a dresser, I scour garage sales, looking for a nice shape, or good quality that has been neglected or outdated by time.

    I've found a lot of great things in the 3-10 dollar range and with a few more dollars in supplies, I end up with something unique to me.

    Paint, distressing, vintage knobs and stencils are the way to go!

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