The Brits are Coming!

Union Flag End Table

I say this about every piece I think, but this is one of my favorites! I mean... the flag design, the distressing... it's got such charm! And it really wasn't that hard to do! I painted the base of it white, did a few coats of that, then tried to figure out what the heck I was going to do with it. I have been eyeballing lots of pieces with the Union Jack flag and I really adore them, so I thought this was a great piece to try that on! The design may not be exact, and it may not be completely accurate but really... it was a first attempt and I'd say a mighty fine one it was. So after coming up with a game plan I started taping it off. I did the 2 X's and covered the border with painters tape and put on a coat of the pale blue. Did the same with the bottom shelf, taped off the edge and painted it. That was all that the bottom needed.

Once the blue on top dried I taped off some more lines and added the mustard yellow/puke green color. That was the trickiest part because on the lines that go diagonal, the center yellow line isn't supposed to be centered, it's actually offset on different sides for each line. Just look at a british flag and you'll see what I mean. So I did my best.

After the paint dried I did some distressing. I started waxing, first with the clear Annie Sloan wax, then with the dark. I actually decided there was an area on the bottom part that was TOO distressed so I had to go back and fix that. That is the #1 thing I love about chalk paint & wax, it is SOOOOOOOO forgiving!! Even though it was already waxed, I just brushed some paint over the area I didn't like and let it dry then waxed again. See the next 2 photos, it's the large distressed area center/right. You'll see it's there in one picture and not in the next.

Ta-Da! How fantastic is this paint?! I can screw up all I want and still go over whatever I don't like and redo it. Took no time at all, seriously awesome. All in all, this table was actually pretty simply to do, pretty cheap to do (thanks to the paint from the restore and "oops" department at home depot) and now it's extra pretty to look at :) Now it just needs to find a home... one that isn't mine preferably. Although I would gladly keep it, I think my husband will go crazy if we have a ton of mis-matching end tables everywhere. Hope you all enjoy!