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Inquiring Minds Want to Know

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I get a lot of repeat questions emailed to me and left in the comments section of the blog. I love reading what you guys want to know that I haven’t told you. Here are a few answers to your most burning questions.

Dining Room

What color is your dining room painted?

It’s Smoked Turquoise by Glidden, and I love it. We painted it this color the day we closed on our house. Other than my son’s room, it’s the only other room that’s not currently builder’s beige. The next room that’s going to get a coat of paint will be our powder room, and it’s going to be in the same shade family as the dining room.

Where did you purchase your dining room furniture?

We bought our furniture at Ashley Furniture. We’ve had it for about four years now, but I think they still sell this collection in their stores. Although it looks black, it is actually a very dark espresso brown. We have the table, six chairs, and a china cabinet from the same collection. I’d like to add another piece under the mirror, but I want to vary the furniture in that room a bit. The mirror itself was 50% off at Hobby Lobby years ago.

Coffee Table

What color paint did you use on the Britney Spears table?

This poor table has about five coats of paint. I started with my free can of Antique White from Glidden, but it was too bright white. So, I started mixing colors together from my stash. I still wasn’t happy. I eventually found a half-used can of Behr Antique White from this project, and it was perfect.

Did you paint it was a brush or spray it?

I painted the table with a brush. I’ll be honest that I didn’t use enough paint at first and there were visible brush marks. I had to sand down the paint at bit and reapply with two thick coats. It’s not perfect, but it’s perfect for me.

What type of trim did you use?

At the bottom of the wainscoting, I just applied a section of half-round trim that you can find in any home improvement store. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done.

Where did you get the table legs?

I bought the legs at Lowe’s. I was very interested in some legs found at TableLegs.com, but I was too impatient to order them and too cheap to pay shipping.

How did you seal the table?

Normally, I use wipe-on poly to seal my furniture. But, I was worried about it yellowing on this white table, so used spray-on Polycrylic for the first time. It was easy to apply (it comes in a can like spray paint) and I didn’t have to let it dry for as long as I do with regular poly. Also, since it’s acrylic, it’s able to be cleaned up with water. Polycrylic can be found at home improvement stores in the same aisle as the polyurethane.

Painting Laminate Furniture

Do I have to wait the full cure-time of my primer when painting laminate furniture?

Well, I guess you don’t have to wait that long, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You have to remember, when painting laminate furniture, you are basically painting plastic. If you let the primer fully cure (not just “dry,” but “cure”), it gives it the chance to fully cling to the plastic surface and make it much less resistant to scratches once you paint the surface. I know it’s a pain to leave a piece of furniture curing in your garage for a week, but I think it’s a bigger pain to have to redo a scratched paint job later.

Any other questions you guys have for me? Leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll do my best to answer it!

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Comments

  2. Kelly says

    I am SOOO happy to find out what color paint you used on the coffee table. That is going in our new office in exactly T-minus 21 days. I have been searching all over the place for the perfect shade of antique white, and I love how it looks in the photo.

    Thanks!

    Kelly
    http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com

    p.s. How do you think this would look with bright white trim? (I can't tell from the picture.)

    Reply

  3. Jess @ Frugal with a Flourish says

    The coffee table redo is still one of my favorites! Thanks for sharing more of the transformation!!

    Reply

  5. Joyce @ Cheap Frills says

    I love these tips! Especially the painting laminate furniture – I have a few projects of that nature coming up! I'm very lazy and was actually thinking of skipping the primer entirely, but I think I know better now. BTW – We have almost the same sofa and carpeting in our living room and your dining room is similar in color to our master bedroom! Great minds think alike I guess *wink*. Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  7. Nicole says

    Love the coffee table! Excellent job! BTW, I just made a few pumpkins yesterday with my kids following your instruction. And It was so much fun and the pumpkins are soooo cute! Thank you so much for sharing your idea and actually those pumpkins started my new blog!

    http://designbypassion.blogspot.com

    Reply

  10. Amadora Designs UK says

    I love the dining room wall colour, it's divine, I would never have considered having such a cool colour for that. Beautiful pics ….

    Reply

  12. AlittlePieceOfShabby says

    Hey Lindsay,

    I just found your blog maybe 2 weeks ago and just absolutely loved it, I have read everyone of your posts and was so sad when they ran out. Because of you I started my own blog today, in which I talked about you and how I found your site and fell in love with it. So you've had a secret fan for the last 2 weeks, I figured I would introduce myself, and let you know your in my blog today =) I'm Jen, or a little slice of shabby. Talk to you soon

    Jen

    Reply

  13. Pete Radke says

    Linsay – Your dining room looks great!
    We wanted to drop you a note to encourage you to continue the great posts and helpful information! Also, you might be interested in our upcoming Get Paint, Give Paint Giveaway starting June 1, 2010 at Glidden.com – we are giving away free Glidden Paint testers while supplies last. Keep up the good work, and let us know at @Glidden_Paint how we can help.

    Reply

  14. b j bearden says

    I want wallpaper on my long living/dining wall but my sofa is green and salmon floral, helppppppppppppppppp

    Reply

  15. Debbie says

    I have a round laminate kitchen table, which is being replaced but I am going to still keep the old round laminate kitchen table. I have been wanting to paint it and do something with it. I was thinking using it outside with the 6 six chairs that came with it. Can you paint laminate with exterior paint for outdoors? I am new at this crafting thing, but have lots of ideas for other projects, but not for this one. Any suggestions for this table for use outdoors?

    Reply

    • Lindsay says

      Hmmmm….I really don’t know. I would assume that if you used a good primer like Zinsser Bullseye 123 (it’s interior and exterior) and a good exterior paint, it should work just fine.

      Reply

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