How to Paint a Console Table: Lessons Learned
Hello there and Happy Fall! I finally, begrudgingly, turned on the heat this week. I guess autumn is officially here! Apple picking and all the plaid blankets, here we come! This week, for the One Room Challenge, Gretchen and I semi-focused (it’s hard to stay on one topic and in one room!) on how to paint a console table that was recently gifted to her.
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The Console Table
The console table (not pictured above) is a Drexel, so it’s quality is top notch. It just needed a little something to tie it in with the rest of the room. We decided to pull out the green in the painting Gretchen has (see it here) and use one of my favorite greens (see that here). I was recently watching an Instagram story where someone had a paint color mixed and then transferred to a spray paint can. Did you know that you can have any color transferred into a spray paint can?!?! Needless to say, we were super excited about this new discovery! (Before you go out and try this though, keep reading!)
The Paint
We headed to the closest paint store to have this done. However, only certain stores have sales associates who can do this. Lesson 1: Be sure to call and check before going to the store. While we were at the paint store, though, we decided to grab a cup of coffee and a handful of samples and narrow down the color of the walls and the trim. The wall color, including the herringbone accent wall, will be a creamy white and we are considering painting the trim a deep gray.
Back at Gretchen’s house, we were happy to notice that the trim in the dining room allowed us to paint it a lovely gray without any crazy transitions into the other rooms of the house. But then we thought maybe it would be fun to bring the look into the other rooms. But then we re-focused. And then we looked at some formal wear for an upcoming wedding. Finally, we wrapped it all up. Haha! Oh boy.
But back to the table.
How to Paint a Console Table
Okay, before we go any further, I have to confess… the first part of this post should maybe be titled what not to do. Or, less harshly, things to consider before painting a console table. Sometimes, you just have to try things to know whether or not they work in real life. And sometimes they just don’t work out. And sometimes, you need more than a week to figure it out. Such is life. So, here is what we learned (I’ll update the post with what to do once we finish the table!).
We decided that the top would look beautiful with a dark walnut stain but first there was sanding, sanding, sanding. Then, Gretchen applied to loveliest of stains. I love how shiny it is. It was really tempting to stain the entire console this color. Then, there was this spot that needed fixing. But, that ended up not working out. (Lesson 2: Wait until the stain is completely dry before trying to fix things. Or, just put a vase or tray over the imperfection- haha! But seriously, don’t pick up vases at my house.)
A quick sand and stain and everything was back to new! Look at that lovely wood grain!
Back to the Paint Store
We were actually able to find a hardware store with spray can paint matching abilities even closer to home, so Gretchen had the a quart of paint mixed to our lovely Benjamin Moore Salamander Green and transferred to two spray paint cans. There is a fee for the transfer.
But when she got home and sprayed, the color did not look like Salamander Green. I asked my favorite paint guy and he shared that they actually haven’t had a lot of luck with transferring the latex paint to the spray paint cans because the color comes out lighter. He knows a lot more than I do but I tried to follow along. If I am translating correctly, there is something about the consistency of latex paint and the pressure of the can that causes something to be stripped from the paint (I’m not sure if that’s the correct terminology) when it is sprayed and it comes out lighter. He said it does tend to be better with oil-based paints. Fortunately, we were able to return the spray paint cans and quart for a refund due to the color change. Lesson 3: Transferring paint from a quart/gallon to spray paint cans can change the color.
Words of Advice from a Pro
While we were waiting and talking it over, a kind man who is a painter gave us some tips and advice. He said that it would be risky even with a legit paint sprayer and that brushing/rolling would work best for the color. He also said that we would want to put two layers of primer on (he recommended one that had a sealer) and then two coats of paint. Lesson 4: Ask questions, talk about your challenges, hope someone behind you is a painter, hang out in the paint section until you run into a painter, get all of the advice you can!
Alternative Ideas
Sometimes, given life and time factors, it’s a good idea to consider alternative ideas. As mentioned above, we could consider staining the entire console table. The only issue is the amount of sanding and likelihood that we wouldn’t be able to sand all of the nooks in the table. Another alternative is a gel stain. Gretchen has used this before in her house and the entire time I thought those pieces had been stained! It seems sort of magical. Unlike regular stain, the gel stain sits on top and doesn’t sink in. So, a possible negative is that you won’t see as much of the wood grain as you would with the natural stain. Lesson 5: Sometimes the answer to your challenge is already in your house.
Come Back Soon!
We haven’t given up on staining/painting this table, so check back soon for an update to this post with lovely photos of the Drexel console table!
That’s it for this week! Don’t forget to check out all of the ORC participants here! There are some amazing transformations taking place!!!
