When I moved from home (evacuating the parental house – as some might say) I bought two affordable side tables from Decofurn. To be fair at the time I loved them, I called the Fourways branch 🙂 asked them if they had the tables available. Mind you, I had spent hours searching online for affordable side tables but the ones I loved were HEFTY!
Truth be told, Decofurn’s catalogue back then was sub-par, they had very cheap looking stuff and once in a while they would get the gems, but those babies would sell like hotcakes. Now, their merchandisers have nurtured their pallet to getting great, elegant pieces that are at a fraction of the price.
I spent R399 on two nesting side tables which have a metal base and removal top (probably a thin MDM wood aka Chuf Chuf wood) covered with black marble contact paper (picture above). I wasn’t sold on the dark colour but for now, it would work because with my love for Pinterest I planned on redecorating it to fit my style. 2 years later, after procrastinating on the side table flip I finally decided to get off my butt and do it.
The Supplies
- Old Newspapers
- Side Tables (deco furn)
- Self-adhesive Marble Contact Paper (Builders Warehouse)
- Rust-oleum 2X Painter Touch Mettalic Silver Spray paint
- Scissors
- Work gloves
- A damp cloth
- Â & a well-ventilated spaceÂ
The Steps
Step 1 – Lay down the newspaper in the well-ventilated space to cover the surface
Step 2 – Wipe down the base with the damp cloth to remove any dust and dirt
Step 3 – Once dry, spray the base with the chosen colour with the first coat and let it dry as per the instructions on the can (try not to concentrate your spraying as that will cause run down)
Step 4 – Once the first coat is dry, go ahead and spray the next coat. Spray on as many coats as you feel necessary to cover the old colour. (the lovely thing about this spray paint is that its both primer and paint, which means its less admin)
Step 5 – While the base is drying, you can begin work on the top. Wipe down the top to remove dirt and dust.
Step 6 – Layout the contact paper on a flat surface and measure the size needed to cover the top. Make sure to cut enough to cover the sizes to avoid any unpleasant looking sides.
Step 6 – Begin covering the top. I recommend covering from one side to the other to minimize errors and air bubbles. Cover slowly by applying the contact paper to about a 3 cm length and smoothing it out using a thin flat object like a loyalty card (which Is what I used). Slowly peel off the self-adhesive cover a small section of the time until you have covered the entire surface area.
Step 7 – The best way to cover the sides is to flip the covered top onto a clean flat surface and cut off any extra contact paper, or you can keep it as it won’t be visible. Start by covering one side at a time by carefully removing the film and smoothing the edges to remove air bubbles. Once complete proceed to do the same on all the sides. You might need to cut here and there to avoid unpleasant overlaps
Here is my youtube video displaying my 7 simple magical steps to reinvent old furniture pieces to use for your own redesign or to inspire you to flip a piece of furniture
