Home

Renovating a Kidney Table with Dipped Legs

Last week I was looking at inspiration for the kidney table I rescued from being dumped. I told you about how its little dipped legs were the source of my inspiration for the final design. Today I am going to show you how my table has turned out. Before that though I’ll give you a look at what I was dealing with.

A cracked veneer. A drilled hole. A glaring pattern under a layer of  dust. Not a whole lot to work with at first glance.

But look at those curves. Look at those fine legs. There’s potential. And I do like a bit of potential in my salvaged furniture. In this case it was the shape of the table that attracted me initially but noticing the dipped legs started me off on my colour scheme and pattern for the renovation.

Going for gold

The silver of the dippped legs got me thinking of metallics and metallics got me thinking of geometric patterns. The metallic geometric look for homewares has been growing and, especially coupled with dark background colours, is still big in 2017.

Although I was tempted to leave the dipped legs as they were, there were two small issues I had with them. One was the silver. I wanted a warmer colour and decided on gold. The other matter was that I wanted a longer coloured space on the legs. Solving that was easy.

By meauring and marking each legs 10cm up from the tip op the leg and then wrapping masking tape around the leg, I was able to ensure all four legs would be painted equally. Rather than dipping the legs in paint, I sprayed them with gold paint. So in truth, I suppose, the legs are now sprayed legs rather than dipped legs.

Laying the pattern

Once the easy bit was over, I turned my attention to the table top. I had already removed the legs in order to spray them. Washed of dust and grime, the cracking and the pattern on the table top were are bad as ever. But I was determined to at least give the kidney table a chance of a new lease on life.  To cover the original pattern, I chose to go with dark green as the background colour for my gold geometric pattern.

Using a can of dark green spray paint, I sprayed the surface of the table and let it dry completely. I repeated this three times to get an even finish and hide the old pattern. Then it was time to get started on my geometric pattern of gold lines. Not naturally a patient person when it comes to projects like this, I decided to go freestyle.

Masking tape and some old newspaper were the basis of my pattern-making. I laid out a random pattern of lines with the newspaper and used masking tape to hold the paper in place and give clean, neat edges. The next thing to do was spray the free spaces. I gave the lines two coats of gold spray. Waiting for the final coat of dry was tough since I was dying to see if the pattern had worked out.

Setting it in scene

The finished kidney table and its pretty dipped legs has replaced the old Ikea shoe rack I was using as a bedside table while waiting for something better to come along. Well, that something better is here and I am thrilled with the transformation.

My lamp and a little stack of books cover the hole quite neatly. There’s room for my bits and bobs, my alarm clock and books too without the table seeming cluttered and the height is ideal for beside the bed.

I’m delighted I decided against dumping it.

 

19 thoughts on “Renovating a Kidney Table with Dipped Legs

    1. Oh do Keira! Find something at home or at a charity shop or being given away for nothing and give it a new life. It is such a great feeling.

  1. That’s really nice. I wonder if you could finish it off with some gold leaf applied to the edging?

    1. I’m glad you suggested that. I was thinking the same. The edge has an unfinished look as it is.

  2. Ah, it’s so satisfying to give a piece of furniture a whole new life isn’t it? I love a bit of gold so you’ve got me wondering what legs I have around here that could be ‘dipped!!’ xx #HomeEtc

    1. The shape is great. I had to look twice when I spotted it put out for the bin collection. As for dipped legs, I really hope they don’t go out of fashion now that I finally have some in the house.

  3. I absolutely love this transformation! I love the colour combination and the kidney shape. I saw it on your instastories and am very impressed with the finished result #homeetc

    1. Oh thanks Louisa. I was torn as to how to restore it but I am pleased with the result.

    1. Isn’t it so odd? It was a bit touch and go at times but I am glad I didn’t ditch it.

  4. What a brilliant upcycling/reclamation!I I really love it and knew you would do it justice X #HomeEtc

    1. Thanks Lins. I really enjoyed the challenge of it. It could all have gone horribly wrong.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.