Thrift Store Coffee Table

I've mentioned before that I'm going to start my first year of teaching in a few short weeks.  Obviously, I'm very excited, but sometimes I think I'm more excited about living in my very own apartment BY MYSELF for the first time.

About a week ago, I signed a lease for an apartment in Tuscaloosa, and although I have much of what I will need to furnish it, there are some things I'm lacking.  While I was visiting my family in Florida this past week, I had a lot of time to kill, so I went shopping!  

The biggest items I needed (ok, mostly just wanted) are things to fill out my living room, like a TV stand, a coffee table, end tables, and lamps.  I found a TV stand on sale at Kmart and some lamps at Big Lots.  I couldn't find any pictures of the styles I bought online, but I'll be sure to post some once I get settled in Tuscaloosa.  That just left the coffee tables and end tables.

As you may have inferred from the retail stores I just mentioned, I am not a shopping snob.  Don't get me wrong, I like nice things, but I just can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on things that I can find for half to a quarter of the price that a) look just as nice and b) are just as sturdy or durable.  Also, the reality is that I will probably not keep all this furniture and use it in a house one day, so why pay out the nose for stuff I'll only keep a few years at the most?

Ok, I'll get off my soap box now.  

I said all that to set this up: I found the perfect coffee table at the Waterfront Rescue Mission Bargain Center in Fort Walton Beach.  This is an organization which serves the poor and the homeless in the Northwest Florida and Southwest Alabama region, and their bargain centers are thrift stores in which the people they serve often work, and the proceeds go to support the organization.  Not only can you get great deals on items, you can support a good cause as well.  If you're interested, they have some e-Bargain Centers set up with Amazon, eBay, half.com, and Shop on Purpose.

What each Bargain Center carries is kind of hit or miss, but I had good luck with a desk from the Fort Walton Beach location before, which is why I popped in to look for coffee and end tables.  The one I found was in fair condition, but I happen to have a shop-savvy Granddad who I knew could help me make it look like new.  I called him up, and he agreed, so early last Thursday morning we got to work.

Here is what is looked like before:

You can see that it looks good, but it's got some pretty obvious dings and scratches along the edges and the top, where coffee tables naturally show wear.

Now my Granddad is a smart man, and I trust his instincts totally when it comes to restoring furniture or just about anything really, but even I was not expecting the solution he came up with.  Would you like to know what we used to cover the scratches and even out the color?

How many of you guessed leather dye?  That's what I thought.

We actually used this dark brown color on the top and a medium brown on the edges and the legs.  You'd never know from looking at the end result that we used two different colors.

When I got to my granddad's house Thursday, he had already gotten started.  I had dropped the coffee table off the night before on my way through town.

The method we used was very simple and quick.  Using a long wooden cotton swab, we dabbed the dye onto the scratches and wiped away the excess with a shop towel.  The leather dye dries very quickly, so you have to be careful about getting dye on the areas that aren't scratched or else the color won't be even.  I wore rubber gloves to protect my hands, but it's not absolutely necessary.  

My grandma took this shot of me in action.

Granddad applying a second coat to some deeper scratches.

Dabbing seemed to work better than a painting motion.

Because the top had so many scratches, Granddad decided that the best way to cover them would be to dye the entire surface.  We simply dabbed the dye onto a shop towel (think the same motion you use to get nail polish remover or another liquid onto a cotton ball) and rubbed the entire top surface with it.  It took a few dabs to get color on the whole surface and we had to work the dye into the most obvious scratches with a little extra elbow grease, but not much.

Once we had covered the top, we used a clean shop towel to sort of buff it out and keep the color even.  The whole thing was a very un-technical process.

And here is the end result!  Isn't that wonderful?!  I couldn't stop looking at it.  I'm not sure the before picture really shows how worn the top of the table looked.

I actually left this in Florida because Granddad offered to put a clear coat on it for me, but he was concerned about the fumes not having enough time to dissipate before I came back to Alabama.  I'll be going back down in a couple weeks to see my brother perform in a play, so I'll pick it up then.  I can't wait to get it set up in my new living room!  

I picked up some end tables at the Crestview Waterfront Mission, and they need a little love too, but now I think I can do it myself.  

So, next time you need to cover up the scratches on a piece of used furniture, don't forget about leather dye. ;)