From Chewed to New

It's no secret that our house is a little chaotic farm-like...but located in the city. We've adopted a new kitten or rather he adopted us by climbing under my car and taking a ride with us around town. Ryder he is aptly named.

Then we also have 3 dogs...all rescues and 2 of 3 are barely over a year old. Yes, our house is at times a circus when you also throw in an almost 5 and an almost 6 boy.

One said dog who shall remain nameless but not blameless (hint: he's black, steals anything and everything to chew up and is a furry mess) decided that our coffee table would be a good chew toy.

Enter evidence:

Not to mention the table was already a little scratched from years of wear around toddlers. But I just couldn't trash it. I loved the style, loved the size and it was still very sturdy. So off to work I went.

First I used a jigsaw to cut off the chewed corners. I essentially angled all four legs (2 were chewed) that used to be round to be more diagonal.

Cole then helped me sand them down to be a tiny but smoother on the edges.

Then it sat in my living room just like that...for months. Note the winter clothes above. We're now at the end of summer and I just finished the table. Yep, it sat cut up for many, many...many months.

Finally last weekend, as I sat on the couch completely exhausted from starting Kindergarten - I decided to get off my bum. And yes, I totally struggled with the new schedule. I mean that one extra hour earlier near about killed me. Needing to be out the door at 7:10 to walk to school? Murder. I'm pretty sure I struggled the most out of all of us.

Anyway, I digress.

I pulled out my Annie Sloan chalk paint that I've had for awhile. Sadly it had settled so I had to really stir and shake...stir and shake...until it was revived. I used Country Grey since it's what I already had on hand.

I did not sand it but I did wipe the top down with Windex to remove any oily residue...just in case. Here it is with two coats of paint:

While cute, it's sort've boring. So I set off aging it. I used a sandpaper block and went around all the edges and corners playing around with what I liked and where it might age naturally.

I of course forgot to take a good picture of the waxing process so we won't consider this a true tutorial. However, I put 1 coat of clear wax and then one coat of dark wax to darken the color a bit, using cheese cloth to do it. You only need a thin coat. It's sort of like rubbing in lotion in a way.

I'm so happy with the finished product! You can't even tell that they legs were chewed anymore unless you really inspect it. The aging process really helps to deflect and now it just looks like a cool distressed table.

I think I may apply the same concept to the back corner cabinet at some point when I feel motivated...in about 8 months.

Pretty cool, huh? Didn't cost me a dime and I just repurposed what I already had. Oh and for those of you curious, it took me just a few hours (due to a little drying time) then I let the wax set overnight.