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Before and After | a Philco table

When my dad and I went over to the abandoned house to grab some furniture, we almost passed this little table by.

A dirty table.

It was very lightweight, super wobbly, and the veneer top had terrible water damage.

But I could see that it had potential, and my dad thought he could make it more sturdy, so we threw it into the truck.

The veneer top was damaged beyond hope, so we scraped it off entirely.

Veneer shards on a garage floor.

There was wood underneath the veneer, but it was obviously not wood that was meant to be stained. So, this table was destined for paint.

A table with a bare top.

An upside to painting: that opened up lots of possibilities for stabilizing the table! My dad drove screws in all the corners:

Kirsten's dad repairing a table.

And I filled and sanded them. I also filled some of the knotty gaps in the top of the table.

A table with wood filler.

Then I gave the whole thing a good sanding.

A sanded side table.

But before I sanded the old finish off, I took a photo of this, stamped on the side:

philco logo.

The internet tells me that Philco used to make home radios, so I’m guessing this must have been a radio table back in the day!

After sanding, I used my trusty Zinnser water-based primer, and then it was time for paint.

Benjamin Moore Advance, (my most favorite furniture paint in the whole world) is super, super hard to come by right now due to supply chain issues. So, I used a different type of cabinet paint that the paint store offered, and while it’s ok, it’s not quite as good as the Advance paint.

I chose a Benjamin Moore color for this paint, called First Light.

A door painted pink.

It’s a very, very faint pink…much fainter than I imagined, based on Benjamin Moore’s own photos!

Let’s just say that my, “maybe this paint will be too pink!” worries were unfounded. 😉

an opened can of First Light paint.

Once I finished painting the table, my parents and I were all trying to figure out if something was wrong with the paint. It was so much lighter than I’d anticipated. But I put the table under the kitchen skylight with the paint chip on it, and it was indeed the right color.

A pink table with paint chips on it.

Internet photos can be deceiving!

Anyway. The after photos are what you all are here for. 😉

A pink table with three plants on it.

pink table with plants by front door.

Even in my own photos, depending on the light and angle, the color looks various shades of pink. And I can tell you that in low evening light, it looks way pinker than it does in broad daylight.

plant table

You can see that the screw holes are invisible now.

A corner of the pink table.

If you look at the white pot on the table for comparison, you can see that the paint IS vaguely pink. But it is most certainly not a strong type of pink!

plant table.

pink plan table.

So! We went from this:

A dirty table.

To this:

A pink table with three plants on it.

And I’m pretty happy with that!

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Joe

Saturday 21st of January 2023

I bought a similar (closed sides) Philco table from a lady who used to work at Philco. She said they were promotional pieces for their dealers, typically. I've tried several times to find a value. But, very few exist. Philco's plant had a radio shop and a separate furniture (cabinet) shop. Both were very good at what they did.

Kristen

Sunday 22nd of January 2023

Ohh, that explains why I had such trouble finding info about these tables online!

Melanie

Tuesday 31st of May 2022

Ooh, I posted on FB that I loved the clean white simplicity - but now I see it really is a very delicate pink and it's lovely!! You and your dad did a fabulous job. I like your very green and healthy plants, too. A perfect accent.

Maggie

Monday 30th of May 2022

I also love these painting projects. Would you say you need a garage and "professional" equipment? I am especially thinking about the sanding.

Kristen

Tuesday 31st of May 2022

Nope; until I worked on some pieces in my dad's garage, I have never had a garage to work in! I have always been working on a back patio or in a backyard.

The only important equipment I use is my Bosch orbital sander. Other than that, it's just manual labor from me. :)

Laura

Thursday 26th of May 2022

Beautiful work and paint color choice! I found your blog over 10 years ago when I searched โ€œhow to paint furniture.โ€ I loved the instructions and photos you provided and I followed your steps to paint my daughterโ€™s twin headboard a creamy white. Since then Iโ€™ve gone on to rescue and rehab many pieces to furnish our little home. And all these years I have read and received immeasurable encouragement, tips, and wisdom from The Frugal Girl. Thank you, thank you for consistently sharing with all of us through your blog and social media! This latest furniture restoration story of yours makes me so happy. Iโ€™m been praying for you.

Kristen

Friday 27th of May 2022

Ohh, I am so happy that my post helped you successfully paint some furniture. Yay!!

Isa

Thursday 26th of May 2022

Cute table! You could have a side hustle of rehabing old furniture, you are very good at it

Kristen

Friday 27th of May 2022

I just don't know if I am fast enough at it to make money at it! I should time myself next time I do a piece to see just how many hours I invest.

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