Coastal Colors Coffee Table

Did you know that you can't fly on airlines with paint in your checked bags?

YOU probably did know that, but I didn't.

I figured the Fusion Mineral Paint I prefer to paint furniture with could fly just like the face paint I call beauty products, but that was not the case on a recent trip to the Golden State.

Sure I could stock my habit and buy all my favorite colors while in California but they wouldn't be able to fly back with me. 

I left my paints in San Francisco wasn't a sad song I wanted to sing.

Fortunately I looked up the list of hazardous and prohibited items before packing was finished, so I didn't have to sacrifice my favorite jars of Fusion in the terminal to the TSA folks rummaging through my neatly packed underwear.

Every trip where I have checked a bag I open it to find the little card telling me my luggage was one of the selected bags that was opened for inspection.

Except this time.  Both ways I could have smuggled in my paint in secret beauty containers, and had it to use on projects when I arrived at the home of my life long partner in crime and her family.

I intended those paint projects as a way to earn my keep. 

The trip was an extended vacation that lasted most of the month of February and in my mind as a thank you I would paint a few things to ease the burden of keeping me supplied with coffee for the duration. 

Since my faithful hound dog was dead and a weasel ate the last remaining fowl we called a pet, I had nothing that needed to be fed each day that couldn't feed itself, so with paint brush in hand, off I went leaving behind the snow and cold for sunny Half Moon Bay.

Like I said, painting a few things was to make me feel better about being the guest that stayed too long, but instead at every turn I was treated like a queen as thanks for all the perceived slaving away over cans of paint that I was doing.

That means my thank you was being thanked.  So now I must come up with a third way to thank the second thank you, right?

Compared to the outside temps at home the sunshine felt warm even though the days were a bit cool to the residents, and working outside in February was a treat for me.  We set up a spot where the UPS man could see me working in my pajamas, just like I do at home.  Bonus their neighbors could also see.

To start the paint projects off, Jojo has a coffee table that was a big old heavy gate in it's past life.  She had painted it black once upon a time and I forced a redo onto itself.

The table ended up getting two redo's on this trip.

It's hard to get into someone's mind. Which basically translates into the fact that I made this more work for myself by not better questioning the vision of the owner and she by over estimating the vision and ability of the holder of the paint brush.

I'm only gonna show you the second redo, the one with the mutual vision.

I would have liked to have had my usual paints along with me, but rather than have the expense of buying all the colors I needed and then having to leave them all behind, I opted to use what was on hand......

Prior to my arrival, the man of the house, who I will call Mike because that's his name, was cleaning out his garage, which turned out to be a good thing for me.  All the colors of their home were at my finger tips and I was able to get hold of them before they were disposed of.  All I had to do was climb up onto the bed of that extra tall truck.

Mike also filled my request for a sander, which turned into a case of sander envy by me.  Recall the old 35+ year sander that has nine lives at my house.....

I wrote a post about our P.O.S. sander a few years ago, and the darn thing is still ticking. 

Mike deposited a box of THREE sanders on the front deck for me to choose from, with dust bags, extra belts, and real honest to goodness handles still fully attached to the tool as well as cords that wouldn't electrocute anyone from frayed wires.

Sander heaven.

I resolved to buy a new belt sander when I got home.  My husband can continue to use the one he's had longer than he's had me if he wants, but I'm using a new one.

Meanwhile back at the coffee table.....

Under all that black paint was beautiful redwood.

The shades of their home are pretty and perfect for a coastal community.  I love each of them - the greens, the blues, a touch of yellow and soft beige to mimic the color of sand. 

The whole house really has the feel of being at the California coast.  At my home I'm stuck in a rut of neutrals, so it was fun for me to use color on projects.

It was also hard for me to cover the redwood back up, but this ocean house along with its owner and the guest painter had a beachy hue in mind for redo #2.

I tried using the orbital sander but the paint was really thick so if I wanted to get it sanded down in this century, it needed the bite and power of the full size belt sander for the paint to come off down to bare wood.

The paints and stains also took a while to dry. One advantage of the Fusion Mineral Paint I use at home is that I can complete projects quick due to its speedy dry time and easy work-ability.

I had to have patience with the paint at hand and patience isn't something I have a lot of. This fact proved itself true on another table project for Jojo where I skipped a step knowing full well my wishful thinking would create extra work for myself, and of course it did! 

Wishful thinking because I guess I thought that I could mentally convert the chemical compounds in the paint I was using to perform like the Fusion paint, and of course it didn't!

The table colors turn warmer when the afternoon sun comes in the widows accentuating the green hue, and are brighter in the early morning or under evening lights which shows off the blues.

Each piece of wood on the gate received a different color.

Shades of blue, green, white, gray and bits of the redwood coming through, making it look like the table had been around a while.

A family friendly coffee table where coffee is certainly welcome, along with popcorn, and I know for a fact a wine glass can sit within arms reach.

I also know for a fact that Mike is great at tuning out silly wine drinking females having an Eagles concert to the right of him, but the dog looked at us annoyed a few times for disturbing his peace.

The redwood post legs were stained with a dark walnut instead of re-painted and contrast nicely with the weathered colors on top.

Old corners are worn and chippy and I can almost hear the noise from that heavy gate as it was slamming closed before being re-purposed into a coffee table.

The table is a great size for putting your feet up.  And in February I did as much of that as I could.

More reading at the ranch...

P.O.S. Sander

Fusion Mineral Paint