Hip-hip-Hooray!!! - A Coffee Table Victory!

I am beyond pleased to finally show some (crappy) photos of the finished coffee table!!

We brought it in last night, and were just getting it acclimated to the heat, since it's been in the garage for quite some (cold) time, so it's not staged properly yet.... But we're pleased with how the color turned out (despite the washed out, less than dark color it appears when the flash is on...).

Here's a little backstory on the tables, in case you've forgotten since it took so long to finish... or if you're a first-time visitor.

Friends of ours were getting rid of the set ( 1 coffee and 2 end tables) when they moved into their new home. We were offered them, and I originally declined because:

a.) I didn't want to seem like a charity case

b.) they weren't really our style

c.) they were the wrong color

d.) I didn't think we needed them

After some quick thinking, I recanted my decision and said we'd pick them up the next day! I knew with some TLC, they could work. Plus, we were moving soon to a house with a basement... we'd need something, at least for the interim.

Here's what they looked like when we brought them home (glass tops removed for storage):

They ended up working fine for the meantime, in our upstairs loft.

However, when we moved, I fully intended on them going in the basement until we decided to finish the space and buy new stuff.... until we moved in and found our current table, for the wide room. So the end tables went to the basement for the time being, and the coffee table found a new (temporary) home as our coffee table. The color of the wood was not working for me, so I tried masking the "orange" tones of the wood, by placing a fabric-wrapped canvas on the lower shelf, a few hours before a big party:

It certainly worked, and served a purpose. Plus, a ton of people commented on the table, and the neat artwork on it ( my canvas). In fact, everyone thought it was custom-made or even something that came with the table! But, I couldn't stand the glaring wood tone difference. I wanted something that would blend, so the table would just disappear.

So, after months of my begging Cory to sand it down for me, he finally did:

I was a little worried. Apparently, the table was not solid wood - the shelf had just a veneer! Plus, in lieu of using an actual sander, he used an attachment for his drill, so it wasn't smooth looking....

But, after 2 coats of Minwax in Ebony, I am pleased to say, I am very happy with how it turned out. Aside from some touch-ups I need to do on a few drips that went un-noticed in the dark garage, we're good to go!

The flash is on in this pic, so it made the table look a lot lighter. It actually matches the floors really well!

Hopefully, despite the crappy pics, taken at night, in poor lighting, with my poor skills... you can see it's such a big improvement over the previous color.

Please know, the flash made the wood look very splotchy and light, in reality, it's not. Otherwise, I would have been too ashamed and not posted it!!

I'll post some good photos, hopefully on the weekend, when I am able to get a shot during daylight!