My first wood project

I bought this sewing table at an Amish Mud Sale about 2 years ago for $1. No, that is not a misprint. The Amish mud sales get many used items donated from the community that often don't sell for more than a few dollars. I actually missed this one and no one bid on it, so it had a little tag that said "NB." I approached one of the auctioneers and asked if I could buy it for $1. SOLD.

I've always been intimidated by stripping, sanding and painting wood. I mean, it just sounds complicated. But, this table was in sad shape. Look at the top. After tackling my dining room floor, I figured I could handle a small table. I am trying to convince Nate to let me decorate our upstairs office where I keep the sewing table. I want to make it a 1950s-style black and white theme. He says that we have other projects to finish first. But, I press on. So, instead of completely refinishing it, I decided to paint parts of it black and keep some wood.

Since the top was the worst, I started there. I added the same stripping liquid that I used on the floor (Citrus strip). I did the same to the drawers, but removed the knobs to keep them the wood color for a nice contrast. I waited about an hour and simply took a metal scraper (even though the jug said to use plastic, if you are careful, metal works better) and off slid the goo and a decent wood shone underneath.

Then I used an electric palm sander (about $30 at the hardware store) as well as my good old elbow grease to sand out the bumps and dents.

To finish, I used many layers of black paint on the drawer faces and the top until I was satisfied with the look. It took me a few days. I topped it off with a spray clear coat (but if I had to redo it I'd probably try to find a brush on. If you look close, you can see the spray marks.)

Anyway, my project cost me a fraction of what a new sewing table would look like. And even though it doesn't fit into the room quite yet, I promise I'll have Nate convinced sooner than later. Any suggestions on what color to paint the walls of a black and white room? I was thinking like a gray, but that seems so blah for the sunny room at the front of our house. Who knows?