I don’t know about you, but summer’s the time when I kick up my heels and bust out my Mod Podge. The warm weather makes me not only want to clean and redecorate, but do fun crafts in order to personalize my space. Lately I’ve been on a home décor craft kick, so I thought I’d share this weekend’s DIY with all my BUSTies–it’s my new pin-up coffee table!
My two roommates know me as a serial sidewalk furniture hoarder (I prefer furniture “rescuer”), so when I dragged home this scratched-up old side table with wobbly legs, no one was surprised. I had big dreams for this chubby little table, and seeing as it was too big to fit next to our futon, I decided to convert it into a small accent coffee table to display our plants and art books.
Let’s get to the DIY. I was inspired by a video by Mr. Kate, which you’ll see at the bottom of this post. Here’s a list of things you’ll need:
- 10-20 Pages of Images to Decorate the Top of Your Table (depending on the size)
- White Primer Spray Paint
- Spray Paint in your Choice of Color
- Sealant Gloss Coat
- Sandpaper
- A Damp Cloth
- Mod Podge
- A Medium-Sized Paint Brush
The first thing you’ll want to do is take your table to a well-ventilated area, preferably outside. (I dragged mine up to the roof of my Brooklyn apartment.) Before touching your spray paint, sand down any varnish on your table, especially if it’s wooden. Once you’ve sanded the top and the legs, wipe your table down with a damp cloth to get all the dust off.
I laid my table upside-down on a drop cloth to protect my roof from rogue spray paint dribbles. First, prime the legs and the visible parts of the bottom of the table with the white primer in an even coat. Wait a half-hour to give it time to dry, and proceed with two coats of your accent color, waiting another half-hour between coats. I let the whole thing dry on my roof for about an hour before taking it inside (it started raining) for the next step.
Cut out your images, cropping out blank and background spaces that are boring or will take up too much room. Make a rough plan of what you want to do by laying out your images on top of the table, before you break out the Mod Podge. Adhere the images by applying a coat of Mod Podge onto the back of each, smoothing out the air bubbles as you place it onto the surface, and applying another coat of Mod Podge over the top of the whole image. Layer images until the entire surface is covered, including the edges.
Let the Mod Podge dry for about 2 hours, checking periodically to see if air bubbles arise–you can usually smooth these out with your fingers. Once the table’s dry, apply a layer of your sealant gloss coat and leave that to dry for as long as the directions on the can specify. Mine took about 2 hours.
And you’re done! You can either cover your table in Pin Ups like me, or pick up a cheap art book and rip it up and make a collage. Or use printouts of your instagram photos to make it more personal.
If you use this idea, tag us on instagram @bust_magazine and let us see your cool DIY projects!
