Thrifting and Refurbishing a Vintage Coffee Table
BY JESSICA BILLER
There are few things I love in life more than thrifting and refurbishing, (or flipping, as I like to say), used, broken, and vintage furniture in need of a new life. The sheer joy and exhilaration I feel from procuring a rare treasure from an eclectic assortment of someone’s hand-me-downs is akin to the feeling of a kid on Christmas.
I have always loved to craft as a child, and, let’s be honest, and as an adult. This hobby was one that never stopped and only grew into DIY projects and attempts at art (not a talent of mine, unfortunately), which eventually led to thrifting.
The first major piece of furniture I flipped is near and dear to my heart: a coffee table I bought at a discount at a thrift for about $25, give or take.
This coffee table is, to this day, a focal point of my apartment. One of the unique items I used to make my first place an extension of myself and something I know I will always have with me wherever I go. The coffee table may be one of my favorite possessions, but it did not start as stunning as it is now.
This piece of furniture was a diamond in the rough and in need of some sprucing up. With nothing left to do but haul the table home from the local thrift store, I left with a vision and set out to create a new life out of this coffee table.
To begin my first dive into furniture flipping, I commandeered the help of my mother. Together we determined a plan and first steps in the process of beautifying a coffee table.
Step one in the process was to remove the bold choice of decal right in the middle of the coffee table. I used an electric sander with medium grit sandpaper and sanded down the larger surface areas of the coffee table. Once I had done as much as I could with the sander, I used medium grit sandpaper to reach the nooks and crannies that the electric sander was too unwieldy to reach.
Once my sanding was complete, I moved on to step two, which included preparing my table for staining and then proceeding to stain the furniture.
Staining is a multi-step process, and the first step I took was to use a cloth to wipe away any dust or debris that had been collecting on the furniture in question. Depending on how much money you want to invest, you can purchase a specific kind of cloth known as a tack cloth, which has a slightly sticky surface to collect dust and debris. If you are a budget-friendly aficionado like me, a damp cloth will do the trick just as well.
The next step in staining is, finally, staining. The stain I chose for this project was a beautiful mahogany shade that I chose to most closely match the coordinating furniture I happened to have in the front room of my apartment. I then applied the stain with an old cloth, being sure to reach the tiny corners and curves of the table, wiping the excess stain off with a cloth before adding a second layer of stain. This is very important to ensure you are getting an even layer and color.
The final step in this process is to apply a coat of polyurethane, which acts as a sealant to ensure the coffee table stain retains its color. The particular sealant I used was a spray sealant, which prevents the potential for the brush-on sealant to leave bubbles in the furniture you are refurbishing.
The final result is a lovely mid-century modern piece that now sits in my cozy apartment and is the centerfold of all activity. It adds its eclectic flair and charm to a place that I have grown to call home, with all the personal touches I have slowly curated over time.
