Fake French Country Furniture, The Side Table (Part 1 of 3)

I just adore the look of French Country Furniture, but the price tag has me reeling!  (This one is nearly $1000.00!)

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Of course, you know that I would much rather refinish my own furniture, but I still find myself unhappy with the price tag of expensive Designer Chalk Paints, Glazes and Colored Waxes.  There must be a cheaper way!

I have three pieces of furniture I'd like to refinish to make a matching set for my living room: A Side Table, A Coffee Table & A Sideboard/Sofa Table.

Here's the first piece of furniture that I'd like to tackle:

Its actually an old sewing table that used to house a swing-up sewing machine inside.  I bought it at a yard sale YEARS ago and I've kept it in it's current semi-finished, semi-stripped state.  It's a great side table in my living room, and it's been well used as you can see.

So, first things first, my husband "volunteered" to sand off the top and side grooves of the table.

Thanks, Honey!

Next, I added a coat of Minwax Ebony Stain to the top.

Then, two coats of plain White Flat Interior Paint (the cheapest one they had at Lowes) in place of Chalk Paint.  Flat finish is pretty much the same as the Chalk finish, isn't it?

Now, the moment of truth...I really love the distressed look that those Designer Waxes give, but I'm too cheap to buy them.  So, instead, I though I'd give this a try:

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Yup!  Brown Shoe Polish!  Got it for a buck at the Dollar Store!

I put it on using an old dishtowel. What do you think?

Two Hints:  1. Do yourself a favor and wear some latex/rubber gloves during this step!  2. A little Shoe Polish goes a loooong way, so go slowly at first until you get the hang of it!

The Shoe Polish dries instantly, so immediately after the distressing step, I applied three coats of Satin Polyurethane (the kind that cleans up with soap and water - it's far less stinky than the oil-based kind).

Here's the final product:

Here's BEFORE again!  Dramatic Transformation!

Looks cute with my Rag Rose Topiary Lamp, don't you think?

The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Fake French Country Refinished Sewing Table ($12.50 White Flat Paint, $1.00 Shoe Polish, $10.77 Polyurethane, $0.00 Rag)

Total Fake-It Cost: $24.27 (with plenty leftover for Projects 2 & 3)

Compare to Designer Refinishing Materials such as Annie Sloan's ($27.00 Chalk Paint, $12.65 Dark  Wax, $31.76 Lacquer)

Total Fake-It Savings: $47.14


Linking Up at Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, The Frugal Girls, Funky Junk Interiors and these other Great Parties!