TV Tray Table Makeover

There are pros and cons to living in a downtown studio apartment. 

Pros: door to door to work in 5 minutes, about the same time to clean the whole place, being able to reach nearly everything from my bed (kidding...kind of). 

Cons: small closets, having to set up your guest's air mattress in the "kitchen", and not having room for a coffee table, let alone a dinner table. 

Feeling for my sorry table state after hearing that I was holding the plate I was eating from, my mother gifted me a pair of sturdy dark wood TV tables from Goodwill. Size requirement met!

I scoped out the world of Pinterest and the internet at large for some inspiration and was disappointed. There were far more ugly versions than attractive ones. It may be a TV tray but let's at least TRY to make it look classy! I eventually settled with a striped painted top and decided to leave the legs as they were. 

Here are the before pictures:

After I hit the top and sides lightly with some 150 grit sandpaper, I painted two coats of off-white paint on with a mini roller to get a smooth finish without brushstrokes. You can see how much of a difference the second coat makes!

I used leftover paint from my daybed project

One coat (bottom) vs. Two Coats (top)

I let these two coats dry for an hour or two. Next, I taped off the top and sides leaving 1/2 stripe at the near and far sides. I used Frog Tape brand and was happy that it gave a clean edge and didn't pull any of the paint under it off.

Using a roller again, I painted on a warm grey. I ended up doing 2 coats of this color as well just to make sure it was even and clean.

 Then it was time for the grand reveal! I pulled off the tape and was happily surprised how well it had worked and how cute the tables looked. I really like the way they look with the dark wood legs so decided to keep them that way (less work painting was a nice perk). Once they were fully dried, I hit them with a quick clear coat of sealant so that they would be protected if a splash of pasta sauce got on them. All in all, this project took 2-3 hours (with dry time) with an actual work time of 30-45 minutes.  I do so many time-consuming refinishes and other projects. It was really fun to go from start to finished product so quickly with this one!



These tables have been so handy! They pop up in a second and fold up to store in a small space!

Here are some pictures from Tulip Time this Past Weekend in Holland, Michigan:

Some more Michigan Adventure Pictures:

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out my other projects!
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