This morning we shared pics from our recent thrifting trip and I promised you more details about a certain table that we adopted (along with my cleaning/restoring ritual for old musty wood) so here’s the rundown. We really liked this cool Moroccan accent table that we found at the first place we went (Love of Jesus Thrift here in Richmond). Especially since it reminded us of a few designer ones like this that are selling for $260+. So at $25 for a solid wood table with awesome lines, we took it home.
Boy was in rough shape, so I:
- gave him a wipe down with a damp cloth with a tiny amount of Mrs Meyers soap on it, just to remove the crud in the cracks, cobwebs, etc
- let him dry completely outside in the sun for a few hours
- gave him another wipe down with a damp cloth moistened with white vinegar (that helps to get rid of musty odors)
- let him completely dry out in the sun for a few more hours (vinegar + sunlight is the best way that we’ve found to get that musty old smell out of wood)
- brought him in and introduced him to our bedroom
Another optional step is to apply some sort of wood conditioner or oil to gloss things up if the wood is dry/matte, but I usually only do that when I’m sure we’re leaving something as-is (more on that in a minute). He’s still definitely not mint looking (his pretty ornate top is gorgeous in some areas, but still a little beat up in others) but a lot of the items that we bring home are in what we call a “trial phase” at first anyway.
That means before we rush to refinishing them or painting them or somehow adapting them for a certain spot, sometimes we like to leave them as-is, just to think things through a little more and see how we like them before doing anything too hasty slash hard to undo (like painting something we’d later wish we had left well enough alone). Hence waiting to oil or condition the wood, just in case we later decide we want to refinish or paint something, which is then all greased up and glossy.
Although his top wasn’t perfect when it was bare, once we added a stack of colorful books and a small potted plant, you could hardly tell. Totally works for now during his “trial phase,” right?
Here he is from afar. Don’t mind the weird rug placement, we’ve been meaning to shift that so it’s less awkward. I just need to ask John before he sinks into the sofa late at night, never to stand up again. Haha.
It’s kind of cute how the legs of the table tie into the pattern on the rug. We like that it’s subtle so we don’t have any plans to paint the table turquoise or anything too obvious. It’s actually really nice to have some dark hits of mocha in the room (thanks to the big leaning wall mirror and some oil-rubbed bronze frames around the rest of the room, which you can see here).
My favorite thing about the whole piece is that ornate wooden top. So I went picture happy and snapped another close up for all the wood-loving folks at home. It almost looks like a big Moroccan puzzle.
One idea that I had was to paint just the inside edge of each table leg white, so it would highlight the shape ever so slightly.
See how in this picture the legs sort of turn into one big blob because they’re all the same color and you can’t make out that cool keyhole shape as well from afar?
Now imagine just the lip on the inside of each leg being a clean white color? Might be a fun mix of old and new.
What do you guys think? Is it crazy to touch this guy at all? Would you paint the whole thing? Or just refinish it to clean things up a bit more?
Psst- We picked this week’s giveaway winner – click here to see if it’s you.
Brenda says
I love the shape! I would leave it paint-less because the wood tone really words with the design. The keyhole shape just begs for the rich wood tone (IMO, at least).
Nicole @ Post Grad says
OMG LOVE! I used to live in Cairo so I love Moroccan inspired pieces – ironically I own none myself…
I actually really like the idea of painting the edge of the curves. What color would you paint it? Would you think it would be better to go with a lighter or darker color?
YoungHouseLove says
I was thinking white but a bunch of people have thrown out other fun suggestions! No idea where we’ll end up, but you know we’ll keep you posted!
xo,
s
Amy says
I love it! I think gold edges would look cool. But I’m sure you’ll come up with something awesome!
Chantelle Lefebvre says
He is so handsome (funny how we always give furniture a gender – this one strikes me as a “him” as opposed to “her”). Love him in that little corner but I think he would really pop if painted white!
Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says
Painting the inside of the legs…dude, how do you even think of this stuff??? I wish I had half the creativity….I would even settle on a quarter but not much lower than that because then I would be back to square one. ;-)
Dana says
The inside edges would be really cool in a metallic.
Ellen says
Leave it! The wood looks really nice in the photos. Unless it’s really dry or stained I’d leave it. It looks more classic/traditional than a piece of junk from Ikea. That’s my two cents…
Bethany says
Great find, $herdog!
Anna-Lisa says
Ok I don’t know if this would stay on well, but maybe use fancy decorative tape instead of paint to highlight the shape? That way if you weren’t a fan you could remove it easily. Since it’s in your bedroom instead of a common area it doesn’t need to be kid-proof at least, so it might work out.
harmony says
Now i’m usually a “paint all the things!” type of gal but that table I like just how it is! I love the idea of painting the inner corner too- a tape trial run is genius! Cant wait to see what you do:)
Kim says
I thought you were going to paint it, and I was thinking it would look modern, but maybe boring, too. But it looked in such bad shape, I thought that was the only thing to do. Then you didn’t paint it, and it looks great! I like how the dark wood contrasts with the lighter tone of the chair-it’s one of my favorite things about it, and also that it picks up on the pattern in the rug. Clever to hide the bad spots under books, too! Bravo!
sara says
If you are going to paint it, i would paint it the same color as that blue shape in rug and to highlight the curves paint that inside silver. or if keeping it wood, a good leaf would look cool on this inside curves
Donita says
Love that table and all the great ideas for the legs. IF you did decide to do something with the top *it looks great right now* what about glass tile. ;-)
Jenna at Homeslice says
It’s a beautiful table! I love the wood, but I’d consider doing the edge painted if you lived with it for awhile and thought it would help. Either way, great find for sure!
Debbie says
I think you should leave the table alone. It’s nice to have some natural wood instead of painting every surface. :-)
Meg says
amazing find! gorgeous table.
and thank you x10000 for the musty wood clean up tip. we recently purchased a walnut mid-century bedroom set that’d been sitting in a guest room for 35yrs. super smelly and musty. i’d wiped it down and used baking soda in the doors but your vinegar and sunlight sounds like it might just do the trick!! :)
Eileen says
How about turquoise blue on the inside edge of the legs instead of white? Maybe even in a milk paint or chalk paint to give it that aged-to-perfection kind of look?
Nancy says
I like the idea of gold on the inside of the legs, but also think a bright glossy teal on the inside might be cool to tie into the rug.
Stefanie says
I love the idea of leaving it a dark wood stain and instead of using white to paint the inside edges maybe using a metallic, like gold or even rose gold. It would be like the lipstick to an already amazing outfit… but it’s a table.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the ideas everyone! So much fun to hear all the votes and suggestions :)
xo,
s
Karen says
As is! Perfect!
Eilene says
Love this one… So much style in such a small piece!
I’m all for keeping as is. I was watching antique roadshow. A woman purchased a side table at a yard sale for basically nothing. Brought it to Antique Roadshow and wham… The piece was worth thousands. They said if she cleaned it any more than it would be worth nothing. At auction it sold for $750,000!!! A little side table!!! Ok.. Maybe you don’t have that kind of fortune, but one never knows!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow – that’s pretty amazing!
xo,
s
Erin says
Oh, I love him as is! But I think it would also be kind of fun to paint back/inside a bright pop or a neon color, thinking a nice neon green, teal, or pink. Not the edge you a talking of, but the actual inside pieces. No idea what it’d really look like, it’s just what I am imagining!
Emma says
Lovely table! Sign me up for the gold or lighter wood stain team. I think that would be more in line with the Moroccan aesthetic. It would also be more subtle because bright white may come off a bit garish. I’m confident the table will look spectacular after your upgrade.
Meghan says
Love the table. I’m in support of some form of metallic leafing on the interior rim of the legs to make them *pop*. If my recall is correct, I believe Martha Stewart had some great non-traditional metallic paint colors in her line at Home Depot. Maybe a burt orange or teal?
claire says
I would leave it as is. It’s beautiful all natural.
Emilie says
I don’t know if you’ve ever tried Howard’s Restore-a-finish, but it might help with the top of the table. It fills in scratches and other minor imperfections (not so perfectly that an old piece looks new, but enough to freshen it up) and I always am amazed at the final result.
Audrey P says
I love it! I’m hot for anything Moroccan tho. The masking tape idea proffered by Vicki is genius.
I vote that you consider painting the lip a metallic paint. I think a silver would go well in you bedroom, but a brassy lip would make me giddy (I have a giant brass Moroccan plate). It’s your room, so it’s your choice and I’ll like you guys even if you paint the lip in faux-finish strawberry effect, like red with speckles and a green top!
Sarah says
Gorgeous! I love it! I would paint the backs/insides of all the legs white to really make them pop and give it a fun modern look.
Linda says
Great finds on your thrifting trip! And thank you thank you for letting us know some of the places you like to haunt! I’m local and always on the hunt for a new place to try, and some of these are definitely new to me. I can’t wait to go check them out! BTW…great table :)
greenbean says
don’t do it!!!!!!!!!
Christa says
I love the idea of painting the inside of the legs. That would be a cool and subtle accent. And what about somehow accenting the puzzle pieces on the top with the same color? Just a thought, not sure what I even mean by accenting though. I like the wood color and wouldn’t want to paint the whole thing.
Jenne says
I would condition it and leave it at that. The wood is a great accent to the room!
Liz says
don’t touch it!!!!!! (except to oil it up) let the architecture of the piece shine. there is such a thing as too much paint. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the suggestions guys! Thanks for the fun!
xo,
s
Kirsten says
WOW! Love this…just as it is. I really like that you guys leave the pieces you find in their original state before jumping into refinishing them. What a great way to really find out what works best for each find! What restraint!! :)
Chaucea says
Please restore. Do not paint!
Anna says
Sherry, this is my first post, but I’m a longtime lurker on the site. I love all the stuff you found at the thrift stores. Was it hard to leave some of them and not take them home? For some reason I’m having trouble finding good thrift stores in Portland, Oregon, with the prices and selection that you are finding. Do you have any tips for taking off shiny clear coat off of a mid century coffee table? Looks like someone put a heavy clear coat on top.
I love everything you guys have done to your house and can’t wait for the book!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, to get a shiny clear coat off you can use a deglosser and try to sand it with high grit sandpaper (got lower grit if it’s not doing enough). Good luck! As for tips, we just try to go around once a month and sometimes there’s nothing to be found and other times it’s better! Good luck.
xo,
s
Dawn says
I agree with the votes for metallic gold to bring out some details. You could use rub-and-buff instead of gold leaf. It’s inexpensive, goes on easy, and looks great.
Annie says
I would not have seen the beauty of that piece in the store. Good eye! I dig the idea to paint the inside edges just to show off those curvy legs of hers!
Heidi P. says
Such a great find!! My sister-in-law and I went thrift store shopping yesterday! We both came away with $16 of stuff :).
Even though the top is a little beat up, I think it would be murderous to cover it with paint. But I think anything else is open for interpretation!
ash says
Since it s a uniquely angular piece you might wanna try out any coloring options first with some contact paper. To see if you like it.
Fun Contact paper in white/yellow/orange + cool table + seeing it in different lights around the house = might help making the decision more fun and temporary.
You might even just like the temporary-ness of the contact paper if you only used on the underside and behindy-side of the legs. Keep the table in perpetual state of change.
Love you guys. You are my morning coffee.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, love you too Ash! Thanks to everyone for all of the fun ideas today. So much fun to read through all the comments :)
xo,
s
Sarah@SBrandesDesigns says
I think painting the inside lines sounds like a fabulous idea! Also another thought: If you do that I wonder how it would look to also do the top, but instead of the whole top just the inner hexagon, leaving a wood border around it. Could be really awesome :-) It would cover the couple discolored spots on the top while still leaving a good amount of the awesome worn wood… It seems like to me the awesome pattern on the top would still be visible through paint.
Sarah@SBrandesDesigns says
Oh I just see comments suggested metallic gold and I LOOOOOOVVVVEEE that idea
Christian Harrison says
I’d like to add my support to gold leafing. It would give you the bright pop while being more culturally in tune. Another option would be to go black. Going darker would give you more depth and still accent the table’s curvy legs.
Maria says
I love it just how it is. I like the white idea too, or maybe a metallic leaf would be fun on the inside edge. It would be subtle and would probably catch the light nicely highlighting the curves just a touch.
Christy Niebaum says
Love Vicki’s idea to use painter’s tape. Would it be possible to photoshop like you’ve done on other projects (headboard, bedroom flooring, kitchen stools)?
Great find!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, photoshop or tape are great ideas! We’ll have to see where we end up and keep you guys posted of course!
xo,
s
Sarah says
Instead of painting the edges, what about using Scotch stickie tabs and attaching a small, round bookshelf light to the underside of the table? You wouldn’t be able to see the light but it would illuminate the legs.
YoungHouseLove says
Another fun idea! Love all the suggestions everyone!
xo,
s
K (Barking Babymama) says
I love the top as-is for sure – I think the imperfections add character, and I love the puzzle-piece effect, which seems like it might get lost with paint. The idea of painting the underside is fun though!
Tiff says
I am SO jealous of this beauty!! And Im jealous of how many thrift stores you guys have around there… Maybe I just don’t know where to look here in Iowa but I swear there are like two and then one that is extremely over priced…
julianna says
I think you should use gilding wax on the inside of the table legs. And maybe a bit on the top to highlight the pretty wood pattern, too. I haven’t used it, but from what I’ve read it sounds like it’s easy to do just a little and add more if you want (or remove more), so it’s a little more flexible than paint. And a little metallic gleam seems like it would go with the table style.
Devon @ Green House, Good Life says
Love it!
Not quite as cool, but I was totally excited to find this cabinet at the junk store last year.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s really cool! LOVE the lines and the color!
xo,
s