Ikea Hack Coffee Table

Well... it's not so much an Ikea hack and as Ikea fix.  Here's the thing,  couple of weeks back, when I was trying to find a place to relax and instead started to build something to relax on and built the double lounger for my master deck, I had first tried to find relaxation in the Screened in Porch.

Not bad, right?  I built the couch and sewed the cushions using Ana White's plans, and we bought this Ikea coffee table on a whim for just $19.99 when it was on sale.  Obviously this space isn't done, but we had so much other stuff to work on, we sort of tabled it for another time.  (No pun intended.)  Cue that fateful Saturday when I was trying to relax, and while sitting on the sectional, I could get myself to stop obsessing about this:

 This coffee table clearly isn't outdoor friendly, and even though this space is mostly shielded from the elements, all it took was some humidity to make the fake veneer on the sides of the table peel.

So once the double lounger was built and I found myself with time between coats of varnish, I focused on this next little problem.  I searched online for all sorts of build plans, but didn't find anything I really like for the space.  After using it for a year I've found I really like the shape and size of the current table, the only thing I didn't like about it was the finish.  (Or lack there of in places.)  So I decided for now to attempt a cheap refinish to see if I could fix this piece into something I could love again.  

Step one was to peel off all the fake veneer that was lifting, and sand the rest of the piece completely.

Step two was to glue down one of the corner pieces that had started to lift.  I used gorilla glue and clamped it for about 24 hours.

 

Gratuitous baby helping shot.

Once I was comfortable with the fact that the remaining finish was flat and wouldn't lift up again, I covered the whole piece in 2 coats of primer.  I used the same microfiber rollers I LOVE that we used to paint the cabinets downstairs, and I swear they give you a flawless finish on furniture too.

 

A big priority for me in this room is to add a little more color and life, so I decided to go bold with my paint color.  I bought a $3 sample pot of Behr Premium paint, which was just enough to give me 2 coats.  Hellooooo table!

While I was at it I did a few upgrades to the space, which will make the teal table make a little more sense, promise.  More on that soon.