Foyer Table Reveal

I have this little table that used to sit in my Dad's foyer.  It was the first thing you saw when you walked through the front door, sitting directly across from the door.  Small, narrow and not really much good for anything but to be a clutter collector.  I pretty much set it up like he had it and left it that way.  Kind of a mini-shrine (but like, not in a weird way).

My Dad loved everything wood.  He would buy all kinds of stuff from unfinished furniture stores and stain it himself.  Needless to say, I inherited a lot of stained wood furniture - and bless his heart, they weren't always stained in a good way.  He really had a thing for orangey tones.  Uh.  No.

So, I finally talked myself into believing that he wouldn't care one bit if I made some of these pieces of furniture my own by painting them up a bit.  Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous fall day, although you wouldn't have known by the temperatures.  Who ever heard of 80 degrees in Iowa in October?  Weird.  Since I'm never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I decided to take advantage of this last bit of fantastic weather by working on some furniture outside.

The little man had his own fun while I sanded away...

Obviously, I let him dress himself yesterday morning.  ;)
Check out those little bare feet!

Here's what I started with...

Sorry for the quality, I had to crop it from an old picture.
Sometimes I get so excited about doing something, I forget to take before shots!

And after a good sanding...

I primed her up pretty good (which I did not take pictures of) and then painted her "Chalkboard White" by Dutch Boy.  I also tried my very first attempt at glazing in a "Smooth Slate".  OMG.  Why did I think I could screw it up?!  So easy and such instant gratification!  That's my kind of DIYing!  

And here she is today...

Since she sits in our dining room (these old house don't have foyers - at least ours doesn't), I added a few simple items to match the fall decor on the table.

I used an old wooden cheese box as a vase, by taking a foam florist square that I had, cutting it in half and laying it in the bottom of the box.  My centerpiece for the table was dying a slow death, so I cut some of the flowers that hadn't wilted yet and pushed them into the foam.  In lieu of greenery for filler, I walked out to the cornfield that abuts our backyard, grabbed some leaves from a stalk, and shredded them.

I saw this cute idea on Pinterest, but didn't repin it, so I can't say who this came from.  If its your idea, please let me know and I will give you proper credit!  I used hemp twine instead of jute, but still got the same effect.

The bouquet on the bottom shelf is nothing more than foxtail and sticks from our backyard tied with the hemp twine.  I love how the foxtail resembles wheat in its shape and golden color.  And for the backing, I used that old metal ceiling tile that I bought a few weeks ago from "Country Collections" in Dumont.

So here's a quick recap:

I must say I'm totally in love with this table and now I think I'm ready to tackle the computer table.  Fingers crossed!