A Different Little Round Table

This is a tale of inspiration and a makeover that spanned ten years in time, where the results became something better than the sum of its parts.

In 1979 when we moved back to California from the mid-west, I left behind an example of hideous 70s design. It was a vision of dark wood grain Formica, black vinyl and stainless steel frames.  Similar to this one on Craig's List. There are not too many stock images of this design on the internet, which is a good thing! The whole of the 70s is best forgotten.

At the time I was on a total Scandanavian Design kick.  The look of rosewood and teak and "modern" Americanized versions of well built, inexpensive furniture.  (I was still trying to convince Mr. TLRT that "eclectic European" was the way we should go.) This "little round table" became our kitchen table for the next 20 years or so, until it was replaced by a farm table in the mid 90s.

These are images of a similar table, still available today. The design is the same, but the boards used in our table ran the full width of the table and it was constructed of lumber a full 3" wide by 1½" thick. No MDF or veneer involved. It had one large leaf, which came in handy as our kids became teenagers and went through the "he looked at me" and "she touched me stage."

The farm table that replaced the round teak table ....... but that's a whole other story.

You can read about my last kitchen HERE
Yes, I still have the CHAIRS!
Image by Dan Mayers for Country Collectibles Fall 2002

Back to the little teak table.  My DIL wanted a new dinette set and wanted me to paint the little teak table for her growing family.  At the time her kitchen wouldn't accommodate the table with the leaf (several years later when the family moved to a larger house, we would regret not looking harder for the missing leaf).  Painting teak can be problematic because of the oils in the wood and it's natural resistance to water, but lots of sanding and sealing solved that issue. 

Before and after.
We ended up with a textured faux leather finish with floral stencils using a couple of base coats, multi-colored acrylics for the stencils, a copper based glaze, followed by a couple coats of clear matte finish.  The base coats were rolled on with a long fiber roller to give it the texture.

DIL picked out these unfinished chairs and they were painted with the same acrylic colors used for the stencils.  Again a couple of base coats, 2 coats of color, stencils, sealed with clear matte finish.

We topped it with glass and the family is still enjoying it today.

The Rest of the Story

The missing leaf to the teak table was found when we moved to the new house in  late 2006.  I knew someday I would re-work it into something awesome.  Have you discovered Pinterest?

Inspiration hit yesterday as I cruised the wonders on Pinterest.
Bathtub caddies from:

Peg and Awl on Etsy

Eureka!

Mr. TLRT helped me turn over a new leaf ..... in about an hour!

We made a pattern to accommodate the center mounted faucets and spout on the claw foot tub. The cut-outs that wrap around the supply pipes stabilizes the caddy so it doesn't move around and also allows the caddy to be rotated out of the way when your bath is completed.

Mr. TLRT is speedy and had the caddy cut and sanded before I could even get the camera! Here's the leaf and the piece taken out for the caddy.

A couple coats of mineral oil to bring out the color of the teak, which is perfect for wet situations.

A morning bath.

I love my Mr. TLRT, but I love my new bathtub caddy almost as much!

Scroll back up and check out how much of the leaf is left over ...... 

I see some awesome cutting boards in my future!

Total cost = ZERO, unless you want to factor in the original cost

of the table in 1979 which was $149.00.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

I'm joining:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch

Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life

Thrifty Treasures Sunday at Southern Hospitality

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Hoo's Got Talent at Night Owl Crafting

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Thrifty Thursday at Tales From Bloggeritaville

Treasure Hunt Thursday at Blue Creek Home

Alphabe-Thursday at Jenny Matlock for the letter "K" - "K" is for my knock-off tub caddy!

Inspiration Friday over on At The Picket Fence

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed

Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

Flaunt It Friday at Chic On A Shoestring

Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors

May Day Tussie-Mussies

My go-to quick and easy holiday decoration is always the "tussie-mussie."

The following tutorial was posted for some Christmas decorations, but the

process is the same for any tussie-mussie. I've made some out of scrapbook

paper for May Day next week, which are shown at the end of this post.

You will need the following supplies:

An old book, the larger the format the better. (Or any pretty paper stiff enough to hold its shape, like scrapbooking paper or card stock)  Box cutter or X-Acto knife, pencil, scissors, glue, circular pattern (like a plate or bowl), hanging cord or ribbon. Optional: embellishments like beads, buttons, glitter, etc.

Use your knife to remove pages from the book.

Mark around your circular pattern.

Cut out the circle shape, then remove a pie

shaped portion of the circle that is approximately 1/3 of the circle

and set it aside. (You can embellish your cones with cutouts from

these pie shaped pieces later on.)

Hold the paper pie in both hands and gently roll it into a cone shape,

rolled loosely or tighter for a smaller/taller cone.  While still holding

the rolled cone, put a little glue on the inside fold of the pointed tip of the cone.

Roll your fingers around the tip and hold for a few seconds until glue sets.

Where the edges touch at the top rim, again add a bit of glue to secure the rim.

That's all there is to it!  So easy and instant gratification.

I love the way these black and white images turned out and the surprise

is that the inside of the cone also has something of interest to see.

Any book will work, the lower cone below was a page from a gardening book.

Now all that's left to do is embellish or not, add a hanging cord or ribbon.

You might have noticed the meat thermometer above ???

I used it to poke a hole on either side below the top rim to string the cord through. :-) You can also add "tails" hanging from the tip of the cone by gluing them inside the tip prior to rolling the cone.

Example for Valentine's Day.

Or any party table.

That was then and now it's already May Day 2011!

How did that happen so fast???

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope someone gifts you with some pretty flowers for May Day.  The roses are the first flush from my 'Joseph's Coat' climber.

I'm joining:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch
Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Three or More at The Gypsy's Corner

Love Gone Wild ..... A Valentine Tablescape

Happy Valentine's Day

Do you have your hankie handy?

A love story that makes me SOL ...... that's Sob Out Loud .... sigh ......

I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills. The equator runs across these highlands, a hundred miles to the North, and the farm lay at an altitude of over six thousand feet. In the day-time you felt that you had got high up, near to the sun, but the early mornings and evenings were limpid and restful, and the nights were cold.  ~ Isak Dinesen, Out of Africa

 

Enter Vera Neumann with her endless talent.

Vera created thousands of beautiful textiles, many of which were based

on her extensive travels around the world.  Many of them featured animals

she saw during her travels.

Red spotted giraffes and red striped zebras .....

The print on these vintage Vera napkins was the inspiration for a Valentine tablescape here on The Little Round Table, which in this case is actually a rectangular table. So, courtesy of inspiration by Vera and shopping my house, here is:

LOVE GONE WILD - PURE ANIMAL ATTRACTION

Tablecloth - the flat sheet from a $7 Twin set. That's where the metamorphosis comes in, from sheet to tablecloth in the blink of an eye!

Napkins - eBay

Chargers, candle holders, napkin rings - Pier 1

Polka Dot Fiesta plates exclusive to HLCCA

Goblets - Home Goods

Vera Neumann resources:

Vera Neumann The Art and Life of an Icon

Vera Textiles: Add Color To Everyday Fashion

Thanks so much for coming to visit!

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm joining:

Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch

Silver Sunday at Gypsy Fish Journal
Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage
Mosaic Monday at Little Red House
Show Off Your Cottage Monday at The House In The Roses