the LOOOOONG awaited side table

If you've been a reader of my blog for awhile, you might possibly remember I went estate sale-ing.  Like, two years ago.  And I picked up a side table for $15.  And my intent was to paint it an awesome color.  I believe my exact words were: "With some paint, this will make a cute side table in our living room."  Ya.  Some paint + 2 years.  Here's a pic of the bad boy:

So FINALLY... right before Trav left, I began to work on it.  Sometimes, you just need to wait until inspiration strikes, ya know?  Poor Trav, though, he hasn't been able to see it completed.  It'll be a surprise for when he returns.

I had to strip the varnish off.  That's some hard work, there, folks!  And I didn't seem to have the correct tools for stripping, so I used my garden pick-ax (I'm not sure if that's the correct terminology).

I picked a nice, bright paint color... simply because something inside of me rebels at buying white, beige, black, or light blue (aka: normal) paint colors.

I painted two coats, covered it in a semi-gloss varnish... and wa-la!  Project complete.

Side note:: I'm not a huge fan of semi-gloss varnish, as it looks too shiny for my taste.  But, it's what we had on hand and I was trying to keep the costs to a minimum.  I would prefer more of a matte finish.

Double side note:: The color is Plum Jam from Behr.  It adds such a punch of funky brightness... I love it.