Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Loosen Up My Buttons table

One of my favorite things to hear when I pick up the phone is "I found something I need to give to you." People know I want their trash. It's the best.

This coffee table was one of those items, another piece salvaged for me by Lady Bird.  It was a sad, ugly piece of rubbish that had sustained water damage from being outside in the rain.  But somehow, it evolved into a thing of beauty, a conversation piece, and a labor of love.  I had a hard time painting the thing black.  After I had put on a coat of white primer, it looked so clean, so uniform, that I almost couldn't do it.  And it looked so good in all black that I didn't know how I could mar that in order to make it special, only giving in to the idea of covering the top in buttons because the surface of the table is a little warped.  But look at her now!

Each button was individually hand-glued onto the surface of the table.  I didn't time myself, but I estimate that between primer, two coats of paint, and all the buttons, it was double-digit hours of work, for sure.  The final step, covering the top in a clear, even coat of lacquer, is yet to come (that stuff is expensive).

This is perhaps my favorite piece to date.  Do I always say that?


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