Grey Ornate French Provincial Coffee Table

French Provincial furniture is just pretty right? I gave this well used FP coffee table a whole new look with paint, new glass knobs and some raised designs, let me show you how.

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I was offered this jumbo wooden coffee table and said yes immediately knowing I could give it new life.

As pretty as inlaid wood is this top was well used and I was not sure it could be sanded smooth to bring out this gorgeous details so the plan was to work with them and add a raised design.

Another thing I did not notice was one missing pull. As you can see this is a very pretty and specific pull. I searched my usual hardware haunts with no luck and my trusty new hardware source had nothing that would fit the existing size holes to replace them so a new plan for hardware was in order too. The old hardware was removed.

First order of business was to give a deep scrub in every nook and cranny to give it a fresh clean start. I like to use Dixie Belle white lightning cleaner with a bit of dawn in warm water and a scrub brush.

I always save the manufacturer details just in case.

And many of my fellow painters find diamond rings, old love letters and money in their old treasures I found gum on the underside of this one! In the past I found something worse so I will deal with one old glob of gum and continue my search for treasures in future pieces. :)

This is my hack for warped drawers once they are scrubbed clean; Flip over and add some plastic bottomed weight and let dry.

I did add Dixie Belle mud with a mud spatula to the top and areas that had gouges just to see if I could save the top.

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It was hauled outside to power sand

alongside this bankers desk I was sanding at the same time.

The gouges filled ok but will continue with the raised texture plan.

The old hardware holes were filled with mud and power sanded smooth when dry as well.

Now to decide the colors to use; I was leaning towards greys which are so popular right now and classic too.

The entire coffee table was painted in Dixie Belle Paint color gravel road; a medium grey using the Dixie Belle best dang brush. This big boy will get the paint on in short order covering lots of ground and is perfect to pounce the paint on for a slightly textured finish. Two full coats were applied.

To create the textured top I mixed Dixie Belle Sea Spray with coffee bean paint then spread it over the Morocco stencil with a metal spatula.

This process takes time but needs to be done as fast as possible as the sea spray begins to set up quite quickly. The stencil needs to be lifted and moved to the next area matching the pattern as you go. If more time is needed I suggest making smaller batches of the texture paint.

The top is complete and left to dry for 24 hours plus.

Using the Fine Mist Spray Bottle and a Dixie Belle's oval brush the Dixie Belle Paint color hurricane gray was blended over the darker gravel road grey.

The next layer was done with a Dixie Belle chip brush and the Dixie Belle Paint color driftwood. Dry brushing catches in the textures layers and on the raised details.

The top was then power sanded to smooth the Morocco pattern and give a worn look and feel.

The dark coffee bean design was the perfect combo with the greys.

The layers of greys continued with the right drawer being last; see the difference on the rest of the table? All the layers were then lightly sanded with a Dixie Belle sanding sponge to reveal more colors, smooth paint and lightly distress edges.

To age it further I tried adding Dixie Belle dirt with a clean dry Dixie Belle chip brush to the edges after spraying on Dixie Belle easy peasy spray wax but it wasn't quite the look I was going for.

It was on to my favorite way to age a piece; Dixie Belle's best dang wax in brown. I like to apply it with a dedicated Dixie Belle premium chip brush which gets into the crevices perfectly.

Everything below the top was sealed with Dixie Belle easy peasy spray wax.

The top of a coffee table gets loads of use so something more durable is needed other than wax. I used the most durable clear product; Dixie Belle Gator Hide. It glides on perfectly with the Dixie Belle scarlet brush.

Two coats went on and then because it is a shinier sheen and the base was matte I brushed on 2 coats of Dixie Belle flat clear coat with the scarlet brush again. Then when all dry to keep it the same as the base the spray wax and brown wax were put on the top as well.