Trash to Treasure: Lamp Table Makeover

I will admit proudly right now:

I am a trash picker.

Dumpster diver.

Curbside garbage stalker.

I can't help it.  When I see something perfectly good but extremely ugly sitting on a curb waiting for the garbage men, I need to rescue it like a puppy in a kennel.  Sometimes this habit goes badly.  Lots of times I pick stuff up that is more than ugly...it's broken.  And that stinks.  Sometimes I pick stuff up that needs more work than I have time or energy for.  That stinks too...and results in stuff cluttering up my house waiting for the magical moment I decide to get to it.  But other times  I get a burst of energy and willingness to fail miserably at something....and then magic happens!

My husband (who is inheriting my dumpster-diving habit by osmosis) brought home two matching lamp tables from probably 1970.  They were charming and had these really cute little lion doorknocker looking things on the side.  I vowed to keep those even if the tables didn't work out.  I knew that I wanted to repaint them for sure....and I have been reading about the wonders of DIY chalk paint....and wanted to try it....

Pause for a moment.  I am a self-professed lazy perfectionist.  This means I want stuff perfect...but my standards are so ridiculously high that I don't possess the energy to make it the way I want it.  HOWEVER, the older I get, the better I get.  I'm not sure if this means I'm more talented or if it means that I don't care....and I will not expend valuable energy trying to figure it out.

SO, I figured:  the tables are free.  If I try this paint thing and it goes horribly bad, a)  I have TWO of them, and b) they didn't cost me a thing.  And this is what has happened so far:

To say that I am giddy with excitement is an understatement.  I found my favorite color.  I found my favorite finish.  I found my favorite technique.  See the little lions?  Aren't they darling?  And with the lighter color paint, they get to have their day of admiration.  I'm not too proud to admit that I was sweating hard with the first coat because there were serious brush marks.  But I stuck with it and fell in serious love.

Stay tuned because I am currently painting the second table and plan to distress it.  Again, if it goes poorly, I always have this one to stare at all day...