DIY: End tables from old to new

          We have been living in our new house for over a year now.  There were a few pieces of furniture that we borrowed from my parents and it was time to give them back.  (They got another house) So it was time to hit the thrift stores and/or internet.  I had been perusing Craigslist for an octagon end table.  I have really been wanting one.  I like the shape and storage, plus I knew one of those seventies styles from your grandparents house and/or college apartment would look really cool with a fresh coat of bright paint.
         My mom was at the Habitat for Humanity and texted me a picture of a round table similar to the octagon style.  I headed up there to see it for myself.  It was the perfect height and size.  The price tag was $25 and they were having a 40% off sale on furniture that day.  No brainer....

I had already sanded the top when I realized I hadn't taken a picture....oops.

I've painted quite a few pieces of furniture and my mom has painted a ton.  What I've learned, is that unless you are going to apply a polyurethane, the top is going to chip, get scrapped or rub off.  If it is something that is going to get a lot of wear and tear staying with the wood is best.  Plus, my hubs sometimes can't cope with painting over beautiful wood.  In this case I didn't think the wood was beautiful, but the end table gets constant use.  Living with all boys, I can't have a piece of furniture that I have to say,  "don't bang the bat/club/stick/book/cup/car/superhero/rolling pin..... on there."   It has to be able to handle everything.  Luckily, when I sanded the top I really liked the wood grain.  (Maple, I think)
Since I was going to paint the bottom, it is much easier to apply a liquid deglosser than sand.  After that was prepped, I put a coat of primer.

The previous owners of the house before this one had left an end table.  We had it shoved in a closet and basically used it for shelving.  But, since I was already prepping and painting I decided to go ahead and do that table too.

Both pieces are nice and while some may get upset that I am painting and not staining, we are not very traditional.  We like a little color and unique pieces.
This is how they turned out.

It's called Caribbean Holiday by Olympic.   While gray would have been the more "modern" choice, our walls are gray and the carpet is beige.  We wanted something that would stand out, not blend in.   Wwe have turquoise as our accent color around the house, I thought something in the teal family would be cool.  I really love them!  The poly on the top of this one is a gloss, because it get some hard core wear and tear.  The handles are the original, spray painted, of course.   I left the rim of the dark wood, because I thought it was interesting and because the other table had a darker wood.

Not too shabby, eh?

I have two other projects in the works...
One is converting an old coffee table into an ottoman.  (had to enlist the hubs to help with that because it involves a big power tool)
The other is another end table for the baby's room.

The ottoman is coming along.  We have painted the legs and shortened it six inches.....
The end table hasn't been touched yet....can't decide what to do...
It's called a campaign table and has quite a notable brand.  I would like to keep it the way it is, unfortunately it has seen far too much wear to save.  There is a piece of the veneer that needs to be glued back on the side and a ton of scratches on the top.  But for 9 bucks, I couldn't leave it there.  :)
Hopefully I will have the updates soon, but for now we are headed to a birthday party.  Our fourth weekend in a row for birthday parties.  September was a big birthing month for the 1st grade parents.  :)