Farmhouse Style End Tables Makeover

This is my first time using Old Fashioned Milk Paint and Daddy Van’s Wax, and I absolutely love how these two farmhouse style end tables turned out!

When I learned that the theme for The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest this month was “Farmhouse Fun” and that Old Fashioned Milk Paint & Daddy Vans were the sponsor, I knew these tables would be the perfect pieces to makeover.

Any time a friend offers my free furniture to “fix up” I’m pretty much guaranteed to say yes.

When I first picked up these two end tables, they looked like they stepped out of 1970 and were dirty enough that they could’ve literally been stored in a barn since then. They were dirty and cobweb city. But I could see through all of that, to what they could become.

As part of the contest, OFMP and Daddy Van’s allowed me to pick free products to makeover my pieces.

I originally thought the tables would be perfect in a lighter tone of Soldier Blue from OFMP, so I ordered that color as well as Pure White. The thing about OFMP is that you can mix custom colors, because the paint comes in powdered form, so I could’ve chosen any shade of the gorgeous blue if I had wanted to. I also ordered the Extra Bond because I wasn’t going to be painting raw wood.

Once I looked at the end tables for a bit, I decided that for farmhouse style I wanted to only use the Pure White, and General Finishes Java gel stain the tops. I’ll reserve the blue for another project at another time.

To make the paint, you simply add one part powder to one part water and stir. If you’re using a color, you mix the color powder & the pure white with water until you find your desired shade.

The white took three coats over the dark wood, and I used every bit of the pint size container of paint to finish both tables. I didn’t sand the drawers well enough before I began, and the paint crackled in a few areas. In my opinion that’s not a bad look for farmhouse style. But if I were trying for a pristine finish, I’d have had to sand it all off and started over.

To seal the paint, the lavender wax from Daddy Van’s Wax is the scent I chose. Let me tell you, it goes on like butter and smells great. This will be my new go-to wax from here on out. It’s easy to apply and buffs to a matte finish (unlike other waxes that buff shiny).

I reused the original hardware because the patina on the brass aged so well over the years.

I distressed the piece in a few more areas just a bit to give it more of the farmhouse style. I needed the rest of the furniture to match the crackle that occurred anyway.

For one last detail, I lined the drawers with a pretty floral contact paper.

The dark stained top, combined with the white base and patina on the hardware are absolutely perfect together. The results are exactly what I had in mind.

One of my favorite things to do when I’m finished with a furniture makeover is to see the before and after photos. What do you think?

For more Farmhouse Fun from this month’s contest, make sure you stop Evey’s Creations and Anastasia Vintage (two of the co-hosts of the contest) to see their projects as well as links to the other contestants projects. The week after the contest closes, readers will be able to vote for their favorite entries via the Inlinkz thumbnails on any of the hosts’ blogs.
So, if you love these end tables, I’d appreciate your vote!

Are you a furniture flipper interested in joining future monthly contests? You can contact  info@fabfurnitureflippincontest.com for more information.