A Minty Green Project

We have spent the last four months eating all our meals at a card table with a plastic table cloth. Now I'm not knocking card tables, they are great. But they are a bit wobbly, and it gets old knocking everything over every time you sit down. So I decided it was time for a bit of an upgrade. 

To keep with my newfound minty green life I started keeping and eye on tables for sale on Craigslist. My goal was to find something made of solid wood that could fit in the back of my car, all for less than $50. Lucky me found this blank canvas pictured below. Isn't she a beauty? I was able to detach the legs and fit it in my car. Additionally I came in under budget at $30!

Phase two of the project involved several trips to Home Depot. First I purchased sand paper and scuffed the table up so paint would adhere to the shiny finish. Next, I used an odor-free primer to give me a nice base for painting. This was followed by two coats of glossy Martha Steward low-VOC paint in what I consider to be fabulous colors. The result is our brand new to us, stable and colorful table!

I paired the table with multipurpose lime green folding chairs from Target ($9.99 each) and some fun placements complements of IKEA. Such an upgrade and it really brightens our apartment. I was able to complete the entire project, including the chairs for roughly $100. 

Lessons learned:

• It was really important for me to use an odorless primer. Home Depot had several options most of which came in huge quantities. To save waste and cost I went with a primer that came in a spray can. I wouldn't do this again as it was really hard to get an even coating on the table. Primer that could be painted on with a brush would have given me a better surface to paint on and thus a better result.
• Always paint in the morning if you live in the desert. Latex paint becomes sticky fast in 100 degree temperatures making it hard to work with. 
• Overall great experience with Martha Stewart paint. It was fairly affordable and really did cut down on the sticky and harmful paint smell.