Distressed Coffee Table

I'll be the first to admit I've been a very, very bad blogger of late (tist, tist to me).

 And whilst I wouldn't be surprised if due to my month long hiatus there's no-one still around here to actually be reading this right now, just in case there is, I'd like to beg forgiveness (pretty please?).

Thing is, I've now got just a few weeks of 'real' full-time work left before I begin TWELVE WHOLE WEEKS of leave prior to the baby bundle coming along and boy is my decorating 'to-do' list chockers!
Soooo, this means once the un-fun stuff finally starts to slow down I promise to make it all up to you and for those who thought I'd dropped clear off the face of the earth I just wanna clarify that my intention is to keep blogging as long as I have something interesting enough to share*.
(*Disclaimer: Level of interest may be subject to readers enthusiasm for interior decoration :-)

Anyways, to begin my attempt at redemption I thought I'd share a coffee table makeover.

You may remember here how I wrote about our new living room sofas and some associated impending updates. Well, I was originally looking for something a bit out-of-the-box and industrial in style for the coffee table though when I spotted this gem on eBay for just $25 I couldn't say no.

Before (pic from eBay):

Given the unorthodox shape of our living room I'd always liked the idea of something round and when I put this table in place (aside from everything being all too 'brown') it was just right.

A mini makeover to create some character and break-up the 'blahness' was all it needed so I painted the base white before heavily distressing it (by hand using a sanding block) then glazing and sealing it in one step (using a mixture of acrylic sealer and burnt umber craft paint).

The top was sanded back to raw (using an orbital sander), scuffed up just a little bit with a prick punch, hammer and heavy steel chain then stained walnut before being sealed with one coat of danish oil. Over time the danish oil will mellow and leave a lovely natural soft lustre.

Before:

After:

So, here's the original coffee table:

And here's the new one (oh, and as I'm sure you can see a new sofa too - with temporary pillows I pinched from my bedroom):

While I did really like the original table I have to say that I'm falling in lurve with the new one!

Linking this project with some of these parties.

And just in case anyone cares, baby has been somersaulting like crazy the whole time I've been typing this post - I guess he/she either really likes or dislikes my blogging :-)