The Trial and Error of a Certain Side Table {DIY}

I don’t know what it is, but in my head, I have put really high expectations on a certain little side table in our living room.  And not even expectations of great functionality.  It’s more like expectations of it tying together my entire house and causing people to walk in my door and say “Whoa!  This place is amazing and I canNOT get over that side table!  I’m totally instagraming that.  You should submit this!” …and then they ask me if they can live here until I go to their house and make it as awesome as mine.  All of my house-woe’s would melt away with the perfect side table.
 
 
Why a side table and not, say, a couch, a wall or something else more significant?  I don’t pretend to understand myself, people.  I’m a complicated being.
 
We’ve had a few side tables over the years, but I felt the need to lighten up a bit.  We have large furniture and I wanted something a little less bulky so I posted to a swap group I’m a part of, and was able to arrange a swap for this table….
 

A little round one with a cloth cover and glass overlay.  I was so happy to welcome it into our home…with a few changes.  No cloth and no glass overlay.  I have small kids.  That has disaster written all over it.  So I stripped it naked and decided I would have to paint it yellow.  Oh, and I wanted to try to paint a chevron pattern at some point in my life so that would go on the top….yellow with a yellow and white zigzag pattern.  It would solve all our problems.
 
My Phases of a Project:
 

• scan the pictures with hurried excitement and unquenched optimism
• quickly review the items needed …blah, blah…(you won’t have them all)
• assess what you can sub in because that’s what the truly resourceful do (this is the peak of blind optimism and denial)
• imagine the hundreds of times your project will be pinned, liked and posted about all over the blogosphere
• figure out how you will handle the BHG people when they call
• throw out the instructions, you’re not an idiot  (you’re awesome)
• dive in
• recheck the instructions….not sure what’s happening here
• decide that the poor soul who wrote the instructions is the dumbest person alive
• realize you can’t redeem this, shut yourself in your bedroom and take to the bed
• get some distance…maybe listen to your husband’s gentle assessment of what happened
• decide on a plan B when you’ve recovered your pride

 

 

I wanted chevron, didn’t have the stencil so I found one on pinterest and printed it out.  On paper.
 
Exhibit B:

 

 

I didn’t have painters tape so I dug around in the garage until I found electrical tape.  If McGuiver could deactivate a bomb, and make a phone with it, it would work for me.  (I’m not really sure if he did all that, but…he probably did.)

 

Exhibit C:

 

Screw the chevron.  Whoever wrote that post I found on pinterest had NO idea what they were talking about.  Too much measuring and reading.  We’ll settle for stripes.  They’re straightforward enough.

 

Exhibit D:

 

Wow.  That’s a lot brighter than I thought it would be.  All paint completely mellows out as soon as it comes in contact with a surface, right?

 

Exhibit E  (where I curse the whole world):

 

 

Crisp lines, they are not and now I’m seeing big yellow spots everywhere I look.  I’m not saying it’s completely awful.  It just didn’t heal my soul and that’s what I was going for.  I’m not sure it can carry the weight of the world.  I’m questioning everything.  What’s happening to me?

 

Fast forward a few weeks later….
 
I’m happy to report that I’m starting to recover from the horror of it all.  For now, it’s sitting where it’s supposed to and I’m trying to live with it, but… I bought new paint at Lowe’s today.  Oh, and painter’s tape.

 

And a few weeks after that….

The paint is called Secluded Garden (Valspar).  Let’s all just breathe that in for a moment…
 

Breathe in… Breathe out…
 

 

I mean, just look at it sitting over there all serene and peaceful.  After all it’s been through. Quite the difference from the original naked version with a piece of cloth and glass for dignity, but I made it a promise that I would never again subject it my neurosis again.
 

You have been on quite the journey with me today, friends.  I understand if you need to take the rest of the day off.  I’m sure your boss/coworkers/family will too.

 

 

I’ll be sure to update you if as history repeats itself, and please tell me I’m not the only one who does this.

 

{Want to read about more of my failures adventures?  Just stick your email address in the box up there on the right and I’ll make sure you don’t miss anything.  You’ll get a sweet discount to my shop too!}

 

 

 

Posted on January 23, 2013
Posted in DIY/Fun projects