American Flag Coffee Table

Inspired by the red, white and blue decor from last week’s blog, this past weekend I decided to create an American Flag Coffee Table.

Using an old brown table that we picked up at a flea market for $5 (you know, those ones that were mass-produced in the 70’s and are at every flea market and yard sale throughout the land…)

I transformed it from a drab brown circle to a colorful Americana coffee table! Here is the how-I-did-it:

1. I painted the base legs with a couple of coats of Heritage Blue Stain by General Finishes.

Love this stuff. It is water-based, has very little odor, dries quickly, can go on any surface and leaves a beautiful, satin finish.

2. Sanded the scratched and worn top…I am not sure what the finish was, but it certainly made a powdery white mess! Thank goodness it is finally warm enough to use my mouse sander outdoors!

3. Once it was sanded and wiped clean, I taped it off. The American Flag is probably one of the simplest designs you can use-stars and stripes. Easy to do with painter’s tape and a stencil. The table was just the right size to have 13 2″ stripes, so I doubled up my rows of 1″ painter’s tape from top to bottom.

Then I blocked off the area that would be the star field, and used the Heritage Blue to paint that area as well.

3. Painted the red stripes first, then allowed to dry completely…actually overnight. Because I knew I would be taping right on them and didn’t want to risk pulling the red paint off if it wasn’t completely dry. I used some homemade red chalk paint…need the recipe? Click here…

4. Re-taped along the edges of the red stripes and painted with white (also used some homemade custom chalk paint).

5. Using the same white from the stripes, I stenciled the stars onto the blue field. You could also use a star-shaped stamp as well. I just happened to have a whole bunch of different style star stencils…

I knew I would not be able to fit 50 stars, so I just went with a pleasing arrangement using a simple star pattern.

6. Sanded down the entire piece to distress it just a bit.

TIP: when you are sanding red alongside white, keep the sanders separate. The red builds up on the sanding bar and can smear onto the white.

In which case you end up with pink stripes. Which is cute, but not necessarily  all-american.

7. Finished with 2 coats of General Finishes Natural Stain. 

It is clear and works as a nice satin finish for any surface where you don’t want to add color.

8. Voila! A Red, white and blue table-perfect for a nautical or Americana theme for your red, white and blue porch or family room!

So where is the table now? At the Barn at Todd Farm! Since I already have an American Flag Whale Table,

it only seems right that someone else has this beauty for their home. Wow-it’s Thursday again already, everyone!! Hope it is memorable! Susan