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Tiled End Table Makeover – Guest Post by Design Megillah

Rita from Design Megillah is here today. This gal has more creative talent in her little finger than most people have in their whole body! I’ve been following Rita’s blog, for over a year now. I was first drawn to her blog because of the clean look. But, I was soon hooked by all her creative decorating ideas. Rita was a magazine art director in her pre-parenting life. You may have heard of some of the publications she worked on: House Beautiful and Good Housekeeping.

She left the publishing industry to become a mother and lived happily ever after in Connecticut. Just a few weeks ago she became a grandmother (congrats Rita!) She is also an accomplished author of two books published by Simon & Schuster: Jewish Holiday Style and Jewish Weddings. See what I mean? Talented I tell ya’!
Despite the fact that her posts slant toward Jewish holidays and decorating, readers of all faiths can benefit from her clear design and crafting tutorials.
Or this fabulous thrift store lamp makeover:

Without further ado, let’s give it up for Rita from Design Megillah!

I’m so excited and flattered to be Brittany’s guest blogger today!

This is a makeover story about a boring little end table I found on clearance at Target. It was cheap ($20!), inconspicuous, and functional; but eventually ended up feeling boring.

The fact that it’s next to a dark sofa didn’t help matters much. 

This is the result post-makeover. It doesn’t get much better than gold and pretty mosaic tiles.

My inspiration for the table originally came from this photo I found from Jennifer McConnell’s room at the Traditional Home show house in the Hamptons.

Although there’s no comparison between the cost and quality of these tables and my Target table you see that the shape and clean lines are similar.

Here is how I began…

I gave the entire table a light sanding with a sand paper block so that the paint would stick to the table.

Next came several coats of gold spray paint.

I skipped the primer and it took three cans of gold spray paint (oops)!

Originally I wanted to do a marble top, like the stone in the inspiration photo. I figured a remnant would be affordable. After making a few phone calls and getting quotes around $150 (!), I decided to try a marble faux-finish on a square board to top the table instead. I was wandering through Lowes with my cut board when I stumbled upon the gorgeous mosaic tile. It was perfect– and the price was right! The indentation on the table top was the perfect surface to inset the tile, too!

This beautiful Mosaic tile is about $10.00 for each sheet.

After letting the gold paint dry overnight, I spread the tile adhesive, also called “mortar” or “thinset,” onto the tabletop. It has the consistency of cream cheese so I used a plastic knife!

Next it was time to lay the tile. After trimming the sheets to size, everything fit perfectly– no tile cutting required. Which was lucky for me, since I am NOT as handy as Pretty Handy Girl and don’t use many power tools!

All I used were a pair of scissors to cut the mesh backing.

After letting the tile dry overnight, it was time to grout.

I picked up a float at Lowe’s to push the grout in between the tiles.

The blue painters tape was useful to keep the grout from ruining the gold paint.

When the grout was done it was time to sponge off the remainder.

When the grout was dry, I buffed the tile with a slightly damp, soft cloth.

This removed the thin film of grout that remained on the surface.

What a difference some gold paint and tiles made! The entire project cost less than $50.

Thank you so much Rita. What a beautiful table tranformation! See, I told you that she has serious creative talent! Be sure to check out more of her creativity at DesignMegillah.com.

Are you making a run to Target now? Me too, I’ll see you there, but hopefully they’lll still have some of those $20 end tables left.

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

 

7 replies
  1. Livvy
    Livvy says:

    Great project! I love the tile. Do you have any idea what the tile is called, or which SKU it is at Lowe”s? I would actually like to use it on my bathroom floor. Thanks again for sharing your project.

    Reply

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