Today I’m sharing my French grain sack stripe coffee table I finished last week. I have been working on this table for months and months, on and off. I can’t even remember exactly when I bought this table–I think it was sometime last spring–but I do remember the exact price I paid, and that was $5.

The yard sale was one of those sales you wish there were more of. You know, the ones where they just want to get rid of everything so they give you crazy-good deals. Nothing had a price tag so when I saw this neglected table I asked the price and bought it on the spot!

I really wish I had a “before” photo to show you because then you could see what a transformation this is but I just cannot find one picture of it. If you can imagine a plain French provincial pine table–a little beat up with lots of scratches and dents in the wood–that was this table.

I knew when I saw it at the yard sale it deserved to be pretty so I decided to take it home where it sat in my garage, untouched for a few months before several failed transformations, including a good ol’ college try with some wrapping paper for a decoupage-look, before settling on a painted French grain sack stripe design.

Here are the products I used to refinish this grain sack stripe coffee table:

• Rigid Sander

• Annie Sloan Chalk Paint–Homemade French Gray Color Created With Equal Parts Old White & Graphite

• Annie Sloan Chalk Paint–Old White

• High Quality Chalk Painting Brush

• Blue Painter’s Tape In Various Sizes

• Sanding Sponge In 120 Grit

• Varathane Triple Thick Polyurethane–Water Based In Matte

I started this project by sanding the top of the table with my rigid sander until I got a smooth finish.

Then I painted the legs and underside of the table top in Annie Sloan’s Old White.

Next I created a French gray color by mixing equal parts old white & graphite, as I didn’t have any premixed gray. I painted the entire table top in this homemade French gray color.

Next was time for the stripes. To get the grain sack-look I measured to find the middle of the table (with a little help from Huz because he’s good at math 😉 ) and laid a wide piece of blue painter’s tape down directly across the center of the table. This was the hardest part. The rest was easy!

I put 2 pieces of less-wide tape on either side of the wide piece of centered tape and then two more and two more (the part that looks like white stripes is actually white duct tape I used in place of painter’s tape as I didn’t have any blue painter’s tape in that size).

I then removed the wide center piece of tape and two pieces of tape that were in the middle, on either side of the centered piece (duct tape). Following?

Then I painted the stripes where the tape had been removed.

Once the table was painted to my liking I sanded the entire thing to a smooth finish with my 120 grit sanding sponge and then did a little extra to give the table an antique-distressed look.

The final step in this process was the top coat, or sealer. Since I wanted a durable finish (it’s a coffee table), but I also didn’t want the white of the table to yellow over time, I used a water based polyurethane, otherwise known as a polycrylic. My favorite is Varathane Triple Thick. I brushed two coats of this onto the table top and one on the legs of the table, making sure to allow plenty of time in between coats for the piece to dry.

And here is the final product: my French grain sack stripe coffee table~

 

I love the distressed French farmhouse look.

 

I also love the feminine curves of French provincial furniture.

For now, this pretty French grain sack stripe coffee table is living in my farmhouse den/piano room. But I may mix things up in the future.

Do you love grain sack stripes? They’re a favorite of mine. If you’re interested in another furniture flip, check out my shabby chic French dresser makeover.

 

*In my opinion, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is the best. However, it can be hard to find. You can search for locations that sell this paint in your area by going to Annie Sloan’s website. Alternatively, if there are no local stockists in your area, you can always purchase from a small shop that ships nationwide. My local antiques shop that sold Annie Sloan went out of business, so I now order mine online from the closest shop to me in Grass Valley, Ca. It is called Lola & Jack and they ship nationwide.*