Dorsey Designs

DIY and Interiors by Sarah + David

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Roadside Rescue + Painting Laminate + Adding Crown Molding to Table Base

Sometimes my favorite projects come from the least expected places. A few months ago I found this laminate and oak table in the road outside of our house. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but when David got home and asked if I saw the table outside, we decided to go check it out. We weren’t sure about it, but we pulled it into the garage anyways and forgot about it for a few months.

This past week, we finally got around to finishing it and I’m in LOVE with the end result!!

Want to know the best part? It was basically free! I bought white paint for this and a few other projects, but other that that, we had everything on hand! 
Read on to see how we did it! 
I primed the table a few weeks ago while I had the primer out and filled the holes with wood filler. Last weekend, David was playing around with a few pieces of scrap wood and found some crown molding that we purchased (from Habitat Restore) for another project, but didn’t end up using. It fit PERFECTLY between the existing legs for a seamless transition. It’s like it was made to go there! David cut it to size and cut a notch in the top for the existing table top mount to attach to. You can only see it when you are under the table, so we weren’t worried about covering it up. 
We put wood glue on the edges of the crown molding and secured it to the base with small nails.  

To finish the base, we freehanded a corbel out of a 1×6 and then traced three more. David cut them out with the jigsaw and we attached them to the base with wood glue and finishing nails. We then filled in all of the cracks/seams and nail holes with wood filler.

After sanding and wiping down with a microfiber cloth I used my favorite primer, Zinsser Cover Stain. It sticks to glossy surfaces (though it is best to sand first) and it is SUPER durable!! I used two coats on everything and three on the top for extra durability. It is oil based, so that means it’s stinky and the brushes need to be cleaned with mineral spirits (or use cheap ones that can be tossed).

 I finished with two coats SW Pro-Classic in Alabaster, a light creamy white.

We created a stencil in Illustrator and cut it on our Silhouette Cameo and stenciled it with a light gray, SW Big Chill.
Since the top is laminate and it will get a lot of use, I decided to add a few coats of water based polyurethane. Oil based poly will yellow over time on light surfaces, so water based is best for white paint.  
It is the perfect addition to our office! Extra work and dining space. It isn’t too large or small and the round size makes it easy to move around. 
Notice something else?? We also finally finished the other Eames chair!!! Tutorial a little later 🙂 I’m planning to put a few of the chairs that I recently found, once I refinish them. Updates on Instagram if you’re interested. And then the Eames chairs will go back to the desk. 
I love love love the new table base! It makes to look so much more expensive!  
I was originally planning to paint the top in a bolder color/pattern, but I think the simplicity and low contrast works well with the other colors and patterns in the room.

Finally, I created a few prints using text and got them printed as Engineering prints at Staples. The quality is similar to a laser printer (so so quality), but a $1 something each is such an affordable option for large scale prints! I was inspired by the prints in Kristin’s fabulous nursery, found here. 
You can download “enjoy the little things” HERE. It includes two 16×20 prints and one 5×7 print. You’ll have to cut the 16×20 down yourself or Staples can do it too. I printed the 5×7 at home. Enjoy! 🙂 
Ahh SO much better!! Have you used crown molding in an unconventional way too? I’m officially obsessed and will be looking for more project ideas using it! 
Sources:
Table: roadside find, but craigslist and goodwill would be good places to look
Crown Molding: Habitat Restore (about .50 a foot) 
Primer: Zinsser Cover Stain, oil based, Home Depot 
Paint: Sherwin Williams Pro Classic 
Poly: Minewax Water based, Home Depot 
Stencil: Made by me
Frames: Ikea Ribba, here and here 
The office/living room is almost done, then I’ll post more pics showing the whole space! 🙂 

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Comments

  3. have you done a tutorial anywhere on how to make stencils with your Cameo? I am getting ready to make a stencil for my office, but can't figure out what type of material to cut it out of.

    Reply

    • I haven't done a tutorial yet – I learned how to cut my own design by watching a few you tube videos, if you're interested. I use a thin craft plastic, you should be able to find at Michaels or Amazon 🙂

      Reply

  5. Wow! Your table turned out gorgeous and nothing beats free! I pass up tables like this all the time and now I will buy the next one! It would work great in our basement to serve as a lil eating area. The crown molding and stencil makes such a difference. 😉 Jesse @ Scout & Nimble

    Reply

    • Thanks so much Jesse! 🙂 I've already used the table a lot, it's the perfect size for our little space! Looking forward to seeing what you do with one!

      Reply

  11. GORGEOUS!!! This is one of the only blogs that my husband will let me show him things from ;)! Even he can't deny the talent you guys have!! I love this!!! Btw, I painted a laminate dresser for my daughter's room and used a zinser stain covering primer, and the drawers have started to yellow. The dresser was painted a really light gray….wonder if I should sand it back down and try using the water based poly? I think we used an oil base spray poly?? hmmmm.

    Reply

    • Hi Jennifer! Thanks so much, that's so sweet! 🙂 I just started using Zinsser cover stain (per Kate, Centsational Girl) recommendation and love it!! As far as I know she hasn't had any issues with it yellowing light paint, so if you used oil based poly, I'd guess it was the poly. Oil based poly has a slight amber tint, which yellows over time – making light colors yellow. I'd probably sand down the dresser to remove the poly and recoat with paint if needed and then use water based poly 🙂

      Reply

  12. Sarah – so beautiful as always, I can't say that enough! I love the prints "enjoy the little things." Any chance you're willing to sell them, so that I can send them off to a Staples near my house?

    Reply

  15. that looks amazing, sarah!!!! i love what you did to the top! i still need to publicly thank you for my awesome stencil- i have been waiting for the right project! just wanted you to know i hadn't forgotten. 🙂

    Reply

  20. Your blog is completely inspiring! I found it a few months ago and have been greedily devouring past posts. Now I look forward every week to seeing what genius thing you are going to create. Your vision is quite amazing! This post has me wishing I could find a great "garbage table" on the side of the road so I could copy yours- crown molding- I never would have thought to add that, but the transformation is brilliant! PS- I'm wondering if you would share the font you used for the prints. It's lovely!

    Reply

  23. I live in Australia & I own this table except the edges of the top have been routered & it would so fit in with the moulding on the legs. I was going to get rid of it this week. Thank God for Roadkill Rescue & you.

    Reply

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