DIY: Refinishing End Table

Furnishing a home is not-so-easy. After spending thousands of dollars on a down payment, you're now spending thousands of dollars to making it feel like a home. I'm sharing with you all of my budget-friendly projects and bargains for our new brick ranch. First up, an end table for the living room.

Materials:

• $20 - End table (craigslist find)
• $4 - 120-grit sandpaper
• FREE (on hand) - Cloth
• FREE (coupon) - Chalk paint color of choice (mix Plaster of Paris with any paint color: TUTORIAL)
• $5 - Stain of choice
• $10 - Sealer (polyurethane or finishing wax
• $2.50 - 3 sponge brushes

TOTAL COST: $41.50

Step 1: SAND - I sanded the top since I was restaining, and it was really beat up. Take a damp cloth and wipe down all dust and debris.
Step 2: PAINT - I made my own chalk paint (TUTORIAL), and painted the bottom of my table with my sponge brush. I did two coats for full coverage. Trust me, your first coat WILL NOT look pretty!
Step 3: STAIN - I used a dark stain in Kona to cover the top of my table with another sponge brush. Two coats does the trick!
Step 4: DISTRESS - I went around some of the edges with 120-grit sand paper to just barely distress the piece.
Step 5: SEAL - Using my last sponge brush, I sealed the whole table with a water-based poly.

Can't wait to reveal the whole living room makeover!