Foiled sofa table

On the heels of my last post I'd like to share a new table with you.  I picked up this run of the mill pine sofa table last weekend because I really liked the clean simple lines.

It had some water spots on the top and it was, well, boring.  It didn't have any 'life'.  Hopefully, I've fixed that problem.

I used basically the same technique as this post but instead of modpodge I used this spray adhesive which I picked up at Michael's.  It's like Elmer's spray adhesive but WAY stickier.  I coated the table outside and then brought it in to work.  I also sprayed each individual piece of foil before applying them.  I had a small box that I used to spray in so I didn't get sticky all over my house.  {one tip - if you get adhesive on your hands use oil to remove it.  I used body oil, but cooking oil would work fine - soap and water are hopeless}

After the table was dry I did a three step wax process - clear, clear mixed with Graphite ASCP for an aged look, and then clear again.  It gives the foil this 'soft' look, not super shiny like foil normally is and the Graphite mixed with the wax gave it a well worn look.  Without further ado, here she is:

I stripped the top and stained it with Minwax walnut stain.  This is two coats and still not quite dark enough.  I will probably add another coat and then wax it with Hannants medium wax.  

I just finished it about an hour ago and was too excited to wait to share it!  I just love the way the foil and dark top play off each other.  What do you think?

faux silver leaf side table tutorial

What is faux silver leaf you ask? Aluminum foil, of course! :)

I picked up this table a while back for a steal!



and I wanted it to look like an old, worn out, well used, industrial table. Here's what it looks like now:



So here's a little tutorial for you.

Supplies:

table
spray paint (or paint of choice) I used Barn Red
foil - I've read some tutorials that call for heavy duty. I prefer the thin cheap stuff because it acts more like silver leaf.
modpodge

Step 1: Turn table upside down and spray paint the legs and any part that won't be covered in foil. I didn't get a picture of the table upside down and me painting it, you get the idea though, right? Here it is after it's painted and dry ready to be foiled!


Step 2: tear foil into little squares. For this table I used the tearing strip on the foil box, but since then I've just used a straight edge to tear the foil so you don't have to deal with the teeth marks. Tear a lot. Then tear a few more just in case. I just tore the strips in half for this table top. For a smaller project I'd tear them smaller - maybe 4x4. These were around 6x6.






Step 3: Start applying the modpodge in one corner and laying your foil down making sure to overlap the edges of the table.


I folded my corners nicely, like this:


Step 4: Continue adding glue and overlapping until the table is covered. You'll have to add modpodge on top of some foil so the overlapped piece will stick down.




Here's where I didn't take pictures. {sorry!} I repeated this whole process on the shelf as well. When the entire table was done and dry (a couple days later) I started the 'aging' process. Now, keep in mind I didn't do any research on any of this I was just flying by the seat of my pants. So, I poured some modpodge in a little bowl and added a little walnut wood stain. Sounds super intelligent, right? Exactly. It was...weird.

The stain sits on top of the modpodge (in the bowl) and I just went with it. I applied it like I would wax a piece of furniture. I got a rag and an old paint brush. I would get stain with a little modpodge on it and slop it on. Then very quickly I would use my brush to push it all around where I wanted it to be. If there was too much, I rubbed harder and not enough I did it again. I did this over all the foil on the piece and then when it was all dry I went over all of it with hard coat modpodge. I basically used the modpodge to 'hold' the stain where I wanted it to be then I let it dry.

That's it. Here's how it looks finished - again:





Enjoy!