Cheap Side Table Transformation

I've been to Salvation Army one too many times this month, because apparently I've memorized the furniture on the floor. Two nights ago I was getting ready for bed and a side table popped into my mind. Even though I had passed by that piece of furniture several times, I had never given it a second thought, but suddenly, there it was in my head, and I knew just what I wanted to do with it. So first thing the next morning, I went and bought it. I tell you, I have problems people.

This guy was $15, 24 inches tall and 18x18" square, which just happens to be the perfect size for an 18x18 piece of tile. So off to Home Depot I went, where I found a great piece of travertine tile for $5.

Once I got it home, I took the top off, which was a piece of MDF that had been covered with some kind of vinyl fabric like a three-ring binder. I'm sure this table probably made a college student or straight bachelor very happy once upon a time.

The table was a little too tall next to our sectional, so I decided to saw off the legs. I measured 21" down from the top and taped each leg and then took it outside and sawed each leg off with a hack saw. (Pretty sure we're gonna need a new blade now. Sorry, honey.) I then sanded the bottom of the legs with a fine-grit sandpaper.

Next I sprayed it with three coats of brushed copper spray paint. I was a little disappointed that the color wasn't a lighter tone of copper, but I think the color works well in the room anyway.

(p.s. I apparently use anything I can get my hands on as a drop cloth. This is an old vinyl table from Target.)

Finally I popped the feet back in and glued the top onto the base with some gorilla glue and it was ready to go!

The side table next to our sectional now was mid-century traditional, and I lean more towards a modern/mid century modern look, so this is a much better fit for the room than the other table. I also love that the table top brings some lightless to the space, especially with so many wood tones in this room.

This was a quick and easy project, and although it wasn't a huge transformation, I turned a worn and cheap looking piece of furniture into a high end side table. Here's what I spent:

table - $15
travertine tile - $5
spray paint - $5
TOTAL - $25

And here's a side by side of the before and after:

See the rest of the room HERE.