Making a Flower Pattern Table

I bought this table a yard sale about a year ago because I need a table about this size, but it wasn't the prettiest table I'd ever seen. I decided to spruce it up and paint it.

This is the pattern I used.

Materials:

• Table
• Sand Paper (Coarse, Medium and Fine Grit)
• Sander (optional, but so much faster)
• Wood Stain (Cabernet was the color I used)
• Wood Varnish
• Small Paint Brush
• Large Paint Brush
• Paper/rag towels
• Spray Paint
• Newspaper
• Masking tape

Be sure you're working either outside or in a well ventilated area on this entire project. Start by cleaning off the table, making sure there's nothing sticky on it. Then either by hand or with a sander, start sanding off the top of the table with the coarsest grit sand paper you have. After most of the old finish has been removed, move to a medium sand paper and go over it again. Repeat with the fine grit sand paper. You should end up with a smooth finish-less table top.

Next, draw the design on the table top. If you want your design to start in the middle of the table, measure the width and length to find the exact center and start there.

Using a small paint brush, dip it in the stain and dab it in the center of the flower, brushing it outward just a little bit. Then, using the towel, wrapped around your fingers, blend it out toward the edge of the petal. Be careful to not blend too far out. It's easy to add more stain, but really difficult to remove it. You want the stain to be thick at the center and slow fade out to the edge where there should be little or no stain.

After the center petals are done, move on to the next layer by brushing a line of stain at the bottom edge of the petal. Try to just barely touch the pencil line that you drew. This will help to hide your lines and accent the edges.

Once you've been working on it for a little while, the towel will have a build up of stain that makes the blending a little easier. You can also dab your brush on the towel to add stain if it starts to get too dry. You want a nice smooth blend from inside to the outside. You can see my purple band-aid in the photo of me blending the petals.

Keep working your way around the flower from the center to the outer edges. Work in a well ventilated or outdoor area while working on this and take breaks often. Prolonged exposure to the stain fumes can be hazardous. I learned that the hard way when I got the worst headache I've ever had and then read the directions later.

Look around the table and do any final touch ups to make it perfect. I wanted the pattern to continue around the sides of the table, but I didn't paint the sides until the end because it was easier to see where the pattern was going once the top was complete.

After the stain is dry, add the varnish. Brush the varnish on in the same direction as the grain of the wood. Use long strokes going from one side of the table to the other. Follow the directions on your varnish for the dry time and number coats needed. Mine needed three coats with at least 2 hours, but not more then 24 hours in between each coat.

After the varnish is completely dry, it's time to paint the legs. Lay down newspaper or a drop cloth to protect the newly finished table surface. Lay the table upside down on the cloth or newspaper.  Use a towel to wipe off any dust from legs. Tape newspaper to the bottom side of the table to protect the top from any over spray. You can also paint the legs before sanding the top of the table, and then you don't need to be so worried about over spray. I wanted to make sure I could successfully complete the design on top first so that painting the legs wasn't a waste of my time.

Spray paint the legs with a nice thin coat of paint. Let it dry and then add another coat. Turn the table around to see all side in the best light to be sure you didn't miss anything.

After that, you're done!