Trash to Treasure, literally: Faux Bois

I pulled this cute little side table out the the dumpster-area of our former condo 4 years ago. The table is SOLID and heavy. I couldn't believe someone put it in the garbage. The table sat unchanged all this time, being useful for misc stuff here and there.

In our 'new' house, we have a guest room/home office with a small couch. I've been working from home more often and this office needs to be spruced up. It's cluttered and a little junky looking. Note that my photo does not show you much of anything in the room - on purpose. I think I'll try for a black and white neutrals in the office. We bought a nice Ikea desk that's black and white and now my 'new' little table.

The wood was originally a blond finish. I did a quick sanding on the surfaces and spray painted it with two coats of glossy or satin black. Can't remember which. I do know I used a nicer $5 a can paint, not the $1 stuff. After letting the spray paint 'set' for a couple weeks, I decided to move along with the faux treatment. I mixed approximately 1 tablespoon of Mod-Podge with cream white acrylic paint. You need a wood graining tool to complete this technique. I found mine at Menards but I've also seen them at the other big hardware stores. Working in sections apply the paint and scrap it off with the wood graining tool.

Watch this for a demo video from Martha Stewart's crew. This was where I first learned about the technique. I think it could be addicting :)

I'm sharing this post on Trash to Treasure Tuesday at Reinvented.