How To Make Coffee Table: DIY Lace Painting

I and my husband believe that giving a bountiful crop is good, so we make sure to follow the advice of such a wise man, and happily take well-deserved rests on our balcony. We had table for meals, armchair for breaks of reading or Internet surfing.

But in order to give a bountiful crop take a rest, we were missing a nice small corner for enjoying a pleasant and so needed rest with cup of cappuccino or tea and some dessert. It was clear, we needed a tiny table, still big enough to place two cups and 2 plates of dessert on it. And, as usually, it was clear that making one ourselves would be a very nice idea.

SHORT HISTORY OF GETTING THERE: Last summer, on one of thrift store visits I found a piece of cheese board. During one of our jogging evenings we found a huge candleholder that somebody was throwing away. And since quite some time I had been willing to try out technique that I had seen on some home decoration magazine in library – spray painting with the lace pattern. To be ready when the occasion occurs, I had bought some cheap, old lace curtain in thrift store. Perfect opportunity was right there.
We have been enjoying our table for more than a year now. It is still in the same condition despite having spent outside the whole year.

MATERIALS I USED:
A. Old cheese board for table´s surface (picture 1).
B. Huge candle holder for the foot of the table that my husband cut to the right height.
C. Lace fabric from old curtain.
D. Spray paint (I used antique white color).
E. Scissors, Big Needle and Strong Thread, and/or Tape. Screws and Drill.

STEPS OF HOW I (well, WE) MADE THIS TABLE:

1. I placed the board (table´s surface) on the lace and chose the spot which had the nicest part of the drawing. Then I marked the circle on fabric around the board and cut out the circle about 5 cm (2 inches) wider than the circle (picture 2).

2. Then I tacked around the circle (using strong thread, so it would not tear when pulled) – near the edge of lace, but outside of the marked circle, so I could pull the thread together and it would cover the board (picture 3).

3. I placed the lace circle on the board´s top surface side and pulled the thread on the other side to cover the board tightly, and tied the thread. Then I checked on the surface that lace pattern was exactly in the place I wanted it to be (picture 4). To be sure that lace does not get displaced one can use tape to fix it to the board on the down side of table.

4. I put the board with surface up on old newspaper and spray painted it. It was important to be careful with spray painting. I needed an even layer of paint, but also had to avoid it to become too thick, because then the drops would form and would be visible on such lace painting. I had to watch that during spraying I kept the right distance (30 cm) between spray and surface. And I also needed to be careful not to spray too much paint to avoid the formation of drops. After spraying first layer, I let it dry, then sprayed &dried the paint 2 more times (picture 5).

5. When last layer of paint had dried, I carefully took off the lace (picture 6). Then I turned the board around and spray painted the other side.

6. When paint was dry, my husband attached the surface of table to it´s big foot (picture 7) by drilling 4 holes and putting in screws through the foot, up into board, making sure that drill or screws did not reach the top of surface. (If my husband would not be free that day to help me – I would simply glue the surface to the foot with the strongest available glue which should hold the weight of whatever I could place on such a small table).

7. Last step was to paint the foot of the table to fit the color of the surface. I did not need to use the varnish as my paint already contained it. Otherwise I would cover the table with a layer of varnish as well.

8. Time to enjoy that desired and certainly deserved coffee break! (One of our countless sunny coffee breaks is on picture 8).

We often use this coffee table also inside – especially when we have several guests, sitting on sofas. Then additional small coffee table is very handy for those who sit further away from our regular coffee table.

I look forward to your comments and wish you many pleasant & restful breaks!