I’m sure everyone has that piece of furniture (or a few) that’s been around for awhile, is perfectly fine, but you don’t really love it. As someone who’s moved 4 times in 5 years, I wish I could say that I’ve become really good at just getting rid of furniture I dislike…but that can also get quite expensive.
So what do you do if you can’t just buy something new? Spruce up the old. My discovery of marble contact paper changed my life. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic but it definitely changed the life of my plain wooden console table.
What is Contact Paper?
Basically, it’s a giant sticker. It’s an inexpensive way to decorate a surface and really simple to use. Usually it comes in a roll and you can find a ton of different designs. I swear, when I found marble contact paper, my pinterest-lovin’ heart was beating out of my chest in excitement.
You can find contact paper online and at most craft/hardware stores. I bought mine on Amazon (yay Prime!) and it was more than enough for this project.
A Fresh Coat of Paint
The console table that I wanted to jazz up was neautral brown with a single knob drawer. Like I said, it was a perfectly fine piece of furniture! But not really my style. I bought it when I was living with a roommate and we wanted something simple (and not too expensive). First things first, this baby needed a new coat of paint. To keep it sleek, I opted for black paint with a little sheen. To do this, I sanded down the entire table to get rid of any protective coating before I start painting.
Sidenote, I undertook this DIY project about a year ago when my boyfriend and I lived in a downtown St. Louisapartment so we don’t really have much outdoor space. Ideally, that is where you should do any sanding or painting but instead, I had to take over our living room for a few days. So I owe my boyfriend a major thank you for his patience =)
Once the table was sanded, I applied two coats of black paint. I also spray painted the little knob gold to add a touch of glam. There are so many types of gold spray paint out there but one of my favorites is the Krylon 18 Karat Gold Plate. It’s not super shiny which I personally like.
Applying the Contact Paper
Like I said, contact paper is essentially a giant sticker. So the most important part about applying it is making sure you don’t capture any air bubbles. It’s the same process if you’ve ever put on a protective film on your smart phone.
The back side of the contact paper is a grid so you can measure and cut exactly how much you need. I recommend doing this first before applying! Keep in mind you have to account for how much paper you want to fold under the table. When it comes to applying the paper, I found the best technique is to do it a few inches at a time. Peal off a few inches of the backing and place the sticky side down at one edge of the surface (in my case, the table top). Smooth it out with a ruler (nothing too sharp or it will puncture the contact paper) and slowly move across the surface, pealing back the adhesive a few inches at a time and continue to smooth it out as you go. Captured some air bubbles? Don’t worry, once you’ve applied the entire sheet, you can go over everything with the ruler again. If you are afraid of ripping the paper, lay down a cloth to protect the surface before you rub the ruler across the top.
If you have stubborn air bubbles you just can’t smooth out, you can also use a small needle or the end of a safety pin to poke a tiny tiny pole to let the air out. You will have to work at it a bit to smooth out the hole but depending on where exactly you put it, it shouldn’t be too noticeable!
Finishing Touches
Painting and adding contact paper was as much as I had originally planned to do. But then, I came across a blog where a woman had the great idea of using metal box corners for her fireplace makeover. The tricky part was finding the right sized pieces for my table. I ended up finding some metal book corner protectors off of Etsy that matched perfectly with the gold knob. With a little glue, this small touch pulled it all together!
A Full Table Make Over
I’m totally obsessed with how this table turned out and so shocked at how simple it was to do! There’s always a learning curve when it comes to taking on a new project – mine can be seen on the underside of the table top – but what’s great about these projects is that there’s always a place to hid your mistakes, and it makes them a little more personal.
Featured: My mini labradoodle puppy, Riply! She seems a little confused but I think she posed pretty well. =)