Painting the Coffee Room Table

This is what I learned about myself today.

I like high contrast color.





Now you would think that I would know this about myself by this time. I mean even when I was a teen, all I ever felt comfortable wearing was a black top with a white bottom.

The contrast made me feel comfortable, no matter what. Okay, so maybe I was subconsciously looking for balance, but I know when it all started.

It was a black cotton top and it was room enough to just pull over my head. No buttons. No sleeves. And, it had the most beautiful 2 inch black cotton lace edging that I had ever seen. I loved ironing it.

The bodice had darts and was semi-fitted giving me the appearance of perfect emerging breasts. The top was gently gathered, empire waisted and long enough to cover the waist band of my shorts if I was standing up straight. It was just a cunning little blouse.

I wore it the summer I was 14, the summer I was 15 and the summer I was 16 years old. I don't know what ever happened to it, but today's painting brought back the memory sharp and clear when I was trying to decide what to do with the top of the table I was painting for the coffee room at the office.

I had already primed the bare wood with Kilz and painted the top with white and yellow high gloss enamel so that the top was streaked with the two colors.

I loved it as it was.

From a distance it was cheerful and had a natural movement that spoke to my heart.


For two weeks it sat in my garage/studio waiting for a decision. At this point though, it looked too much like my kitchen table and I wanted to try something new, even if I had to force it. What to do?

I tried several things using chalk to try out designs on the glossy paint. Did I want something balanced and geometric? Should I use some stamped designs?

What about blocks of color or irregular shapes that would incorporate the colors of the table legs?



Do you like the legs? A base coat of Kilz, a coat of yellow and then another color dry brushed on just enough to leave hints of the yellow underneath. Then, just to jazz it up a bit, I added some stripes so that each leg has four colors and lots of movement going all the way around.

I was happy to paint this table in parts right out of the box. I didn't have to bend over once to get to a hard to reach spot.

But, grrr, I just couldn't decide what to do. My stomache just wouldn't let me settle!

Question? "If I were me, what would I like?"

Answer: "If I were me, I would paint big simple flowers and I'd use the complementary color, purple. "

High contrast!

Now I could relax and finish this thing.



Purple is the complementary color to yellow. Put them together and they both sing!









The side view shows the black and white strips and some of the color that I've painted on each of the four sides.

It's going to look so good when I take it to the office and put it all together.
I'll post a photo after I've put on a few coats of polyurethane



In this photo I've slipped the legs into the holes just to get an idea of how it will look.

Is this cool or what?

If I were me, I'd say, " I just love this thing!"