Our first big find: the coffee table

One Saturday morning just before Christmas (way back in 2008, I believe), I was staring out our living room window, which overlooks the dumpster. (Scenic, yes. Try not to be jealous.) And what to my wondering eyes should appear? Why, a long, low coffee table and eight tiny reindeer. OK, maybe there were no reindeer. There may have been a raccoon though. Or a cat stalking a mouse. In any case, there was definitely a coffee table, just sitting beside the dumpster.

If I had judged the table solely based on its paint job, I would’ve said it belonged in the trash. The whole thing was painted this hideous green – a kind of “work pant” green. But ignoring the paint and looking only at the shape of the table, you could kind of see that it was probably an older table, made with quality craftsmanship – not just some particle board Ikea thing. In short, it had enough potential to merit investigation. So together R and I hauled it up to our apartment and set it in the bathtub to let some of the caked-on snow melt off.

Once dry, we removed a small patch of paint to see what the wood underneath was like. Verdict: nice! So we proceeded to remove all the paint, always with the fear that there would be some huge flaw underneath. I was convinced a toddler had perhaps taken a magic marker to the tabletop, which would totally explain the need to paint the table (although it wouldn’t explain the unfortunate colour choice). But as we slowly revealed the wood underneath, it became apparent that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

And that is how we came to possess our magnificent coffee table in just 5 easy steps: find, dry, strip, varnish, and enjoy! (Tip: if you’re going to work with chemicals like paint stripper, I’d highly recommend doing it in a well ventilated area. A 1-bedroom apartment, especially mid-winter when the windows are closed, is perhaps not the best place to tackle such a project.)

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