I’m not sure if I should have called this “mid mod week” or “free is good” week!  Either way, I have another free mid century modern piece to share with you today.  Plus if you read to the end, I’m sharing a link where you can get a coupon for some free paint too!

My neighbor Karen (or as I like to call her, nnK) brought this table to me a while ago.  I think she said her dad, Big Larry, dragged it out of someone’s trash pile.  She likes to bring me trash.

Fortunately, she has pretty decent taste in junk (and apparently so does Big Larry).  She does lean towards the mid-century modern.

Shortly after she gave this piece to me I happened to be browsing through the latest Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co catalog and this page caught my eye …

photo via Schoolhouse Electric

See the bedside table?  Very similar to my freebie, no?  Certainly similar enough to provide inspiration for a makeover.  By the way, the table pictured above is available for $350 from Schoolhouse Electric … bwa ha ha ha.

This table was really dirty when I got it.  I scrubbed it thoroughly with a Scotch pad and Dawn dish washing soap and the brown gunk that came off this thing was disgusting.  Also, unexpectedly, as I was scrubbing with the Scotch pad the black paint started to come off too!  Underneath the black was the original green.  Once I dried it off, I realized I had to sand it to get more lose paint off.  Gack!

Once I had that done, I gave the legs and the bottom shelf a fresh coat of spray paint in Rustoleum’s Canyon Black in a satin finish.

Then I painted just the top level in Fusion’s Limestone.

And voila!

It only seemed fair that I stage the photos for this table over at nnK’s house.  She had the perfect mid mod props for me.  The atomic clock and the turquoise leather chair.  That chair, by the way, is another freebie.  She snagged it when the people next door to her were cleaning out the house after our former neighbor passed away.  They just thought it was an old ugly chair and were going to trash it.  It’s in fantastic condition, and that shade of turquoise makes me drool.

In hindsight, I wish I had worked harder to stage the table itself.  I just plopped a magazine on top and called it good.

But really, I felt like I couldn’t compete with that chair and clock.

I suppose I could have chosen chalk paint for the top of the table, but I chose Fusion because I wanted a little more shine than you get with chalk paint and wax.  Plus, it was a one step paint job.  Paint and let dry.  I did use two coats, but it really couldn’t have been easier.

Not bad for a free table, right?

If you have been thinking about trying Fusion paint yourself, now is your chance to get something for free too!  Clicking on the image below will take you to the Fusion website where you can request a coupon for a free tester pot of paint to be redeemed at participation locations (offer good through November 30, 2015).

For those of you who are local (Twin Cities), I checked with Jody at Farmhouse Inspired and she is participating in this giveaway.  Just bring your coupon to her and exchange it for a tester sized pot of Fusion in the color of your choice.

Hey, free is good, right?

This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  I was not compensated in any way.