a new old coffee table

You may remember this post on our coffee table; the one that badly needed painting since the finish had been stripped by Bath & Body Works Wall Flower oil. But what you didn't see in those photos was this:



Yes. My paint job in all its splotchy goodness. I don't know what the hell happened. I think that was the first night the temperature really fell in SoCal, and it just effed up the paint beyond belief. I tried to cover it with regular roll-on paint, but nothing seemed to fix the problem. So instead, I stripped it down and painted the whole thing Heirloom white. It's now sitting in Jason's game room awaiting the TV.



Wondering why I decided not to use the piece I'd slaved, agonized, cursed, and cried over worked so diligently on? Blame Pottery Barn. Well, Pottery Barn and my catalogue addiction. While sipping my Plantation Mint tea and leisurely flipping through the glossy pages of their January catalogue, my heart absolutely stopped when I saw this photo.



It's not just that Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray wall (although how gorgeous is it over those planks?). Or that amazing photo gallery set-up (humina humina humina) or even that bright green tree in that to die for braided basket. No, what made my heart skip a beat (or twelve!) was the Norfolk Bench.



The chunky legs, the distressing. The whitewash finish. And I practically started salivating when I read this in the description:

... We've captured its appeal in this family-friendly bench, crafted with the generous proportions of 19th-century Irish farmhouse furniture.

Oh shut up! You all know I'm a sucker for all things Irish. But at $400, this bench was just not meant to be. I immediately started scheming over how I could turn my once-French Country coffee table into an Irish farmhouse coffee table.

Imagine my delight when I remembered we had this in the house.







That planked top, those turned legs, that distressing! And it was free! All it needed was a couple coats of Heirloom White paint (and only to the top! the bottom was a near perfect match as it was!), some more distressing...





...some Ralph Lauren Smoke glaze (thank you Shanty Sisters!)...



..and some fabulous new hardware courtesy of Anthropologie...





...and I now have my very own Pottery Barn knock-off Irish farm house coffee table for the sweet sweet price of $35! AH! Fabulous!

For those who are curious, the table originally came from a local furniture store called Jerome's, but I'm pretty sure it's an Ashley Furniture table.

I'll be linking up to:
Inspired Ideas @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Make Your Monday @ The Twice Remembered Cottage
Trash to Treasure Tuesday @ Reinvented
Power of Paint Party @ Domestically Speaking
The Pottery Barn Knock-Off Party @ Homebody