What color to pain coffee table

[Joanie]

I have a lovely dinning room set that is a very soft butter yellow with a wood top. It is actually in my living room, due to the fact that I don't have a formal dining room but the living room is large enough to accomodate it. But....I really want to paint my coffee table white. It is huge, dark wood but has a beautiful leaded glass top. My walls are white, the drapes are white and there is an assortment of end tables and a buffet and entertainment center in different types of woods. I am afraid the white will stand out more than I want it to due to all the different pieces and because of the lovely "Chocolate Brown" carpet I can't wait to rid myself of. If I were younger (like my daughter KarinBob) I would just go for it and paint the whole lot white. But she lives too far away and so I must go it alone. What do you think girls? Any ideas?

[Karinbob]

I love that you decided to join this forum! You will love it! The gals here are so helpful. I really think you should go white!! :D

[Lisa S]

Welcome KarinBob's Mom! We're multigenerational now... Neat!

I would paint your table white. I have a multitude of woods in my house. My decorating style is more eclectic than strictly cottage. I painted some furniture white and then thought it was too stark for the surroundings. I rubbed some stain into it and immediately wiped it off. Then I aged it with some sand paper. It really looked nice and took the brightness out of it.

[Lynzee]

Hi Joanie! Welcome to the CL forum! So glad you decided to join us. I'm sure you'll get a lot of wonderful ideas here. Your dining room set does sound lovely! I'm guessing you weren't including that when you said you "would just go for it and paint the whole lot white"? I agree with Lisa, go ahead and paint the coffee table. If you think it's too bright afterward, just add an antiquing glaze or stain to tone it down, but I definitely think you should go for it! :D

Lynzee

[Joanie]

Hi you cute girls,

Thanks for the welcome. I really enjoy this forum, and thanks for all your tips. I had considered using an antique stain but I keep vasilating. I'm certain when I was younger I didn't dilly dally quite so much. But when you get older you don't want to do it more than once. Well any way I did go ahead and paint the table white and I painted a little wooden end table that is also a magazine rack (old thing). I love the white but it is too stark for the room. Soooo I went back to the hardware store and checked out the different colors available. They have a French Linen that I think will look much better. By the way I used Krylon's Whisper Whites, ( Designer Whites with a Hint of Color). It is awesome. It dries in 12 minutes and you can put as many coats on the furniture as you want. No sanding necessary. Will let you know how the French Linen looks.

[Lisa S]

You don't seem to dilly dally, my friend!

[zuzus_garden]

Hi Joanie!

Wow! No sanding necessary - like that!!! The French Linen sounds pretty. I bet it will go beautifully w/ your butter yellow dining room set.

Glad you've joined the forums!

:)
Zuzu

[Lynzee]

You certainly didn't dilly dally when it came to painting your table! Or tables, as it turned out. I love Krylon paints--the results are always fabulous and the finish is so durable! I paint everything with it and never worry about having to "protect" anything.

So...what's next? :D

Lynz

[Joanie]

You certainly didn't dilly dally when it came to painting your table! Or tables, as it turned out. I love Krylon paints--the results are always fabulous and the finish is so durable! I paint everything with it and never worry about having to "protect" anything.

So...what's next? :D

Lynz
Hi again,
I got the coffee table painted, went over it with the French Linnen color and I really like it. It's not so stark. But I think I need to put an acrylic finish on it but I don't want it to be too shiny and I don't want it to yellow. You say you have used it and it is durable. Do you think the acrylic finish is necessary? My daughter, Karinbob, waxed her chairs with a paste wax and they are beautiful, but I can't make up my mind which to do or to do nothing at all. I'm just goofy from the paint fumes I guess.

[Joanie]

Hi Joanie!

Wow! No sanding necessary - like that!!! The French Linen sounds pretty. I bet it will go beautifully w/ your butter yellow dining room set.

Glad you've joined the forums!

:)
Zuzu
Hi Zuzu,
Thanks for the welcome. You girls really inspire me!
I also live in Colorado but I'm only at 7000 ft. I'm really ready for spring. I had lots of tulips coming up but the deer ate them. They just munched them right down to the soil and ripped the bulbs right out of the ground. Do you have problems with the wild life where you are? Got any great suggestions of what to plant that the deer would turn their noses up and look for better grazing elsewhere? I'm mainly a Calif. girl where everything grows....easily!

[zuzus_garden]

Hi Joanie,

This is the first place I've lived where I haven't put in a garden - everything here was planted by mother nature. The deer come through and graze, but we never chase them off.

For help with deer resistant plants, you can visit the Garden Web Forums (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/).

:)

Happy to know we're neighbors!

Zuzu

[Lynzee]

Hi Joanie:

Believe me, I can relate to the "goofy from paint fumes" feeling! I find Krylon paint fumes especially difficult to deal with, but I do love the end result! I have never sealed anything I've painted with Krylon and haven't had any problems, thus far. I never worry about yellowing--I always add a few drops of black paint to white paints to prevent that. There are sealers available with a matte finish though, if you're worried about the finish being too shiny.

Lynz

[sararose]

High Country Gardens specializes in western gardening (especially in New Mexico and Colorado) and puts out a free catalog. At the bottom of each plant they sell, there are little icons that show if it is deer resistant, rabbit resistant, cold hardy, xeric, etc. You can order one here:
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

If you call their 800 number, they should be able to recommend some deer resistant plants. Their sales staff is very knowledgeable.

[Joanie]

Sararose: Thank you so much for the info regarding the little dears, deer that is. I will send for the info. Hope I can have just a few flowers that they don't care for.

Lynzee: Thanks for the tip about Krylon paint. If you are happy with the end
result I bet I will be also. And I also like the idea of adding a little black paint to the white to keep the yellow out.

ZuZu: I want to thank you also for your help regarding the deer. We don't chase them off except when they come up next to the house where I have a few flowers I am trying to protect. I just need some flowers that make me smile.

You gals are super. Thanks again for your help. Joanie