Turning a Relic Into A Masterpiece

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We now were ready to prime the table. I used an oil base primer called X-I-M (primer & sealer). We used inexpensive sponge brushes and began covering the table with a coat of the primer. This step would require overnight drying, before we could move on.

Cheryl and I decided to give the table foundation a very warm beige/neutral look. This would allow the colors of the stencil to show up very well, and keep the table neutral enough for most rooms. We worked with two latex paint colors, the foundation color I would call a coffee with heavy cream, as you can see from the picture we painted a base coat of this color over the entire furniture piece.

Now it was time for some fun, faux painting. Using a glazing liquid and our paint selections, we mixed two small bowls of the coffee color and the second color, which was a cream. I used a cereal bowl with about a cup of glazing liquid and tablespoon of paint. 

With a damp sea sponge we began dabbing with the lighter color, then we dabbed some more with the coffee color and kept working and blending until we had our desired effect. It was so simple and took about an hour total. Cheryl was amazed at how easy this step was, and the table had a whole new look.