I love our dog. She’s one of the best decisions we ever made. And when Luna was a puppy, she was so darn cute that she could get away with doing nearly everything and our hearts still melted. Eventually, around 5 months old, she began to lose all her pointy puppy teeth, which meant that she chewed anything in her path that had texture–chew sticks (obviously), bones, sticks, rocks, shells, toys, Legos, stuffed animals, pillows. She left tiny teeth all over the house. I would find them stuck to my socks or lodged in a shoe. And then she upped her ante, slowly and cavalierly noshing off the right hand fingers of my daughter’s American Girl doll, the heel of one of my favorite pair of shoes, and then, finally, she discovered her piece de resistance: our living room coffee table. One day I returned home to find her systematically destroying the edge of it with a look of sheer, devilish delight as sawdust piled up below her little snout.

It’s been about two years since she polished off the edge of our table.  I didn’t blame her too much for it. I was grumpy, sure, but I had to admit that it wasn’t all her fault. It was looking a little rough for wear anyway. Our kids had banged hammers and sticks and toys on the edges when they were toddlers, and we rarely used coasters anymore so there were plenty of little rings and marks along the top. But buying a new one didn’t feel appropriate because we’re remodeling our kitchen, our living room is still in a state of flux, and I am characteristically not one to run out and buy anything new unless I’m certain it’s something I’ll want to look at for the rest of my life. But still. Looking at the chipped edges, destroyed corners, and scratched surface made me grumpy. Sort of like annoying music playing in the background that you try to live with but eventually realize is giving you a headache. It was becoming an eyesore that I was tired of ignoring. So instead of taking it to the nearest thrift store or giving it away to a friend, I decided to drag it out to our driveway and paint it.

First I sanded it. Which was admittedly really therapeutic. It’s cathartic to sand down the surface of wood and prep it for something else.

After cleaning it off, I spray painted it a warm gray, and then let it dry for a few days. Our kids said it looked like a slug during this stage.

Then, I added two coats of Benjamin Moore Arborcoat Deck & Siding Semi-Solid stain in Spellbound. I had to wait till it stopped raining to do my final step, which was to attack it with a power sander. This was pretty fun. I’ve never distressed a table before so I didn’t know what to expect. I focused on the edges and tried to reveal a bit of the gray and some of the wood beneath the blue.

After Brian and I dragged it into the house and set it up, I decided I liked it. Blue is a tricky color to work with, but I like this one–it’s a mix of beachy blue and farmhouse blue, and I liked it a lot better once it was sanded down a bit. Even though I think we’ll still build or buy something else eventually for our main room that kinda ties in with the kitchen and dining area, this will work great in the basement when we turn that into the family room/hangout area extraordinaire. But mainly I love that it’s clean. There aren’t any more big stains or doggie teeth marks. It was a completely easy, drama-free, couple-hour, $20 project that I wish I’d done years ago. And as I was working on it I had an aha! moment when I realized I could paint it any color I want. Anytime. So, who knows. Maybe I’ll make it white or green or black or grey. And then sand it all down and reveal different colors as the years go by. In any case, this table is staying with us till death do us part.

What do you think? Do you like it?