Guest Post: Kelly from This Bird Nest

My friend, Kelly from This Bird Nest, and I go way back.  All the way to college!  She is a dear, kindred spirit with a very fun personality and deep thoughts.  Little did I know she was also great at redoing furniture!  Take a look!

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I had dreams, okay? I specifically had dreams for my dining room table: 

Pottery Barn. You are the bane of my decorating existence. I want everything that you sell, but I can afford NONE OF IT.

Enter Goodwill: 

I bought this little table for 20 bucks. It was a magnificent buy, but it was SQUARE, both in shape and personality. Lucky for me, my good friend had a round table top sitting around in her garage NEEDING ME (Thank you, Amy!!). 

So, I had the pieces. I had a pedestal table and a round table top. The next steps were up to me. Here's the problem: I have never refinished/ painted furniture. NEVER. So, I consulted some experts and got to work.

FIRST SAND:

My brother helped me with this! We sanded down the top of the table, but I only roughed up the base. After sanding, it was time for brushes!

 
STEP ONE: Oil Based Primer.

STEP TWO: Two Coats Semi-Gloss Paint.

STEP THREE: Polyurethane
(I recognize it looks like I may or may not have dipped my entire head into the can here.Oh, no, my friends-- I paid someone to make my hair look like that).

STEP FOUR: Attach the tabletop to the base!

STEP FIVE: Get that tool out of your toddler's hand!

STEP SIX: CHECK IT OUT:

Here it is in our lil' nest:

All in all, I think this was a success. As I told the husband, "I finished it. How many of my projects can I really say that about?" What a way to start out 2011, with PROGRESS.

Things I would do differently:

• Sand more! The table top was a little beat up, and there was some water damage. I don't know if it would have helped immensely, but I would have liked to sand down the top a little more and see if some of the imperfections would have been less obvious.

• Been more careful painting. I have a few places on the table that have little dots of dripping paint. In some universe, that might be artsy though, right?

• Consult one of the vests at Lowes. I have no clue if I bought the right Polyurethane. Maybe one of you could tell me? But, I have no clue. The table looks great, and all... But, there are a few places that look a little yellow-y. I think it could have been me needing to be more careful while painting, but I have that nagging worry that I used the wrong product. LIFE.

So, Better Life Blog Fans, tell me:
Have you rocked any DIY projects lately?
Do you have any advice/ insight here?
If so, what could I have done differently?
More importantly, how can I get my hair to look less orange?

I leave you with a picture of me and Rebecca circa 2004.
You're welcome:

 Welcome to the world little one. You're one lucky Lady Bug.