Number Fifty-Three: Custom Farmhouse Coffee Table & My Sanding Frustration

Hey everyone! I have to tell you that I am so excited with how this custom farmhouse coffee table came out.

I picked it up at a tag sale with a particular customer in mind, and I have to be honest, it was in rough, rough shape.

In addition to the severe water marks...it looks like it was used for plants, one of the boards on the top had separated.

It was a lot of prep work to get it to the point of being able to stain and paint, and I definitely could not have done it without the serious woodworking skills of my boyfriend. He makes the best partner in this whole furniture business I have!

He started the repairs by removing the top of the table from the base and gluing and clamping it until secure.

I attempted to take over by sanding the top, but hit frustration level literally in minutes; the stains were virtually impossible for me to get out and I needed a pristine finish to stain on.

Here's what I learned: 1. It takes way more patience and time to sand and prep a piece of furniture than what I ever could have imagined. 2. Buy the stripping sandpaper (60 grit) from Home Depot and just spend the extra because the equivalent at Harbor Freight sucks. And wastes your time. And patience. And money.

Once we got the top all situated, we stained it with General Finishes Antique Walnut Gel Stain. Now, I know their Java Gel Stain tends to be more popular, but there is something about the Antique Walnut that keeps me coming back time and time again. It is just a gorgeous, rich color.

Once we were happy with the results, I finished it with poly so it would be extra durable.

Moving on to the base and the drawer...I painted both of those in the classic Snow White, also by GF. It paired so nicely with the stain and lends to the farmhouse feel.

The base was then distressed and finished with wax.

Seriously. This was a ton of work, and believe it or not, I pretty much have the same exact order (this time with two matching end tables) for another customer. I'm trying to take what I learned on this first project and use it to make subsequent ones easier (I can hope!)