stick a fork in her

She's done. And Zelda is her name. She and I have spent so much time together it was only right to attach a name to my outbursts - as in, "Damn it Zelda, why didn't you tell me you had this big chip on your left side?!" (in the interest of full disclosure, she's been done for a few weeks, but with all the holiday hysteria, I've been lazy otherwise engaged and haven't taken her picture.)

I gotta say I have never been this indecisive with a project before and I blame my new "try to plan things out, think ahead a bit more and don't just throw stuff together you freak" outlook. Many, many plans are on deck for our living room, which is where Zelda will live, so I had to plan for what she will be surrounded by in a few weeks (you hear that Luke) rather than what she is currently surrounded by so I'm not "sprucing" her up again down the road.

My $15 garage sale table - before.

For example, she is sitting pretty between two old slipper chairs that could use new cushions. And while those aren't in the budget right now, Santa did get me some pillows I've been stalking on Etsy that will jazz up those chairs. Real nice Clark. (name that movie).

So with the pattern on those pillows, as well as the pillows that will be going on the recovered sofa just across from Zelda (see I told you, many plans) there will be a lot going on. That nixed the idea of adding a pattern to the table, as I had originally thought. But Zelda has such interesting little details I did think she deserved a bit of flair to her.

Poor table top

With all of this in mind I started with a paint color I had used on the corbels in my kitchen by the name of Dusty Miller. Its one of those great colors that changes as the light changes. Its blue, its gray, its almost white at times. Versatile...and since I had some left over, free.

Sanded and Dusty Miller'd

I then added the smallest bottle of paint I could find - a tube of Martha Stewart Craft Paint (for wood) by the name of Highlands. I love the blue and green together. Oh Zelda, you will look so so nice with my new pillows.

My $15 table, after.

I had planned for new hardware but whoever installed the current pull drilled two giant uneven holes, (Damn it Zelda!) so new hardware would have required filling in the holes with wood glue, sanding, re-drilling etc. And to be honest, once I painted the pull, I thought it worked for her. Every old girl needs a bit of funky jewelry.

I love her 'dipped' feet and her painted...molding, for lack of a better word. I had painted all of the molding but it started to look a bit crazy even for me. So I followed that standard fashion advice - Look at yourself before you leave the house, and take one thing off - I'm paraphrasing of course.

Try painting those feet in a straight circular line. Impossible.
She will get a touch up after the holidays.

So there she is. By no means perfect, but certainly a bit happier. And I love her, big chips, weird dents, flame-like hardware and all. 

You can't tell from this angle, but I did paint her molding on all sides.

Her lower level has already become a landing place for toys and she has been a Barbie dressing room on a few occasions. Welcome to the family Zelda.

Zelda dressed for Christmas

Have you crossed any projects off your list recently? Have you ever tried to paint a straight line on a circle?