Transform your coffee table with this step-by-step DIY guide using chalk paint. Learn techniques for painting, distressing, and waxing to create a stunning piece in this coffee table makeover.

Have an old coffee table that needs a fresh look? Discover how to transform it with our step-by-step DIY guide using chalk paint.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to strip, sand, paint, distress, and wax your coffee table to create a stunning, personalized piece for your home.

Whether you’re new to furniture makeovers or a seasoned DIY enthusiast, our easy-to-follow instructions will help you achieve beautiful results. Get ready to breathe new life into your coffee table and add a touch of charm to your living space!

(Posts on stacyling.com may contain affiliate links. Click HERE for full disclosure.)

Painting furniture is such an easy way to transform a piece. I love working with chalk paint for this purpose and have had great success with a range of projects. For example, I painted my kitchen cabinets and answered common questions about using chalk paint on cabinets HERE.

This upcycled vintage framed art has a totally new look now. And I even updated a few frames to create this beautiful vintage botanical art gallery wall.

Chalk paint can even be used to update the fabric on a piece too. Check out this antique bench, this chair, and this Facebook marketplace find.

So sprucing up this coffee table with some furniture stripper and chalk paint was a no-brainer. I can’t wait to show you how much better it looks!

A photo of two cans of Rust-Oleum Chalked paint, one in Matte Clear and the other in Linen White, perfect for a DIY coffee table makeover. In front of them are two paintbrushes with dried white paint, a roll of blue painter’s tape, and a green sanding block, all on a carpeted floor.

Why This Coffee Table Needed a Refresh

This coffee table was a garage sale find that my in-laws used at their shore house. I think they bought it for $10! My mother-in-law gave it a quick makeover shellacking the top so the grandkids wouldn’t damage it with their juice boxes.

I don’t have photos of what it looked like back then, but the whole piece is made of wood and had a shellacked orange glow. When my in-laws sold their beach house, my husband and I took some of the furniture for our home.

At the time, the coffee table was perfect for our living room. It fit with our decorating style and there was no chance my young kids could damage it. And even if they did, it was a $10 garage sale find so who cares!

So sprucing up the coffee table then wasn’t necessary.

A rustic wooden coffee table with a light brown top and distressed white legs, the result of a recent DIY coffee table makeover, sits on a patterned area rug in front of a dark brown leather sofa adorned with striped and plain cushions. The background features a leather bag and a small plant.
It doesn’t look totally terrible in this photo, but the top of this piece was a high gloss orange without any photo editing. So it needed a good sprucing up!
A cozy living room with brown leather sofas, a grey upholstered armchair with matching ottoman, and a wooden coffee table featuring a stunning DIY coffee table makeover. The room is adorned with various green plants, framed photos, and a wreath on the wall. Earth tones dominate the decor, creating a warm ambiance.
Here it is before the living room makeover.

But after having it a few years, I refinished the bottom of the piece so the whole piece didn’t look so orange. I left the top intact so my kids couldn’t wreck it with their drinks.

Yes – it was that well shellacked! I’m telling you – my mother-in-law wasn’t messing around!

When I refinished the bottom, I had very little experience working with furniture so this was a great opportunity to get my feet wet with a small DIY.

I spent an afternoon sprucing up the piece by sanding, painting, and distressing the bottom. For a few years, it looked pretty good. But as time went on, the shiny orange finish really bothered me.

So it was time for a makeover.

A container of Citristrip paint and varnish stripping gel sits on a wooden surface, ready for a DIY coffee table makeover. The orange container with its green label has the cap partially open, and a used paintbrush lies nearby, hinting at the ongoing home decor project.

Chalk Paint Makeover: Transforming Your Coffee Table

I wasn’t sure how, but knew that I wanted to strip the top of the piece to get rid of that orange shellac. Because I have dark leather sofas in the living room, I wanted to lighten the piece overall and give the wood top a lighter, more natural look.

So here’s what I did…

A collection of refinishing supplies on a table includes CitriStrip stripper, Rust-Oleum mineral spirits, Rust-Oleum Chalked paint in "Linen White," Minwax finishing wax, sandpaper, a Black + Decker sander, and a paintbrush with white paint on it; perfect for your next DIY coffee table makeover.

Materials Needed For This Coffee Table Transformation

A rustic wooden table with a polished, honey-colored top and distressed white legs sits on a clear plastic sheet outdoors. This DIY coffee table makeover brings new life to the surface while maintaining the aged charm of the legs. The ground is paved and shows some greenery, completing this DIY home decor scene.

Step-by-Step Directions for Your Coffee Table Makeover

  • Place the coffee table on a plastic or disposable drop cloth so clean-up is a breeze. Using a disposable container, pour stripper in and follow the manufacturer’s directions for application.
  • Apply stripper to the piece using a disposable or inexpensive paintbrush. Allow the stripper to sit on the piece for at least thirty minutes. Because there were so many layers of shellac, I left it on for a few hours.
  • Test an area with a scraping tool to see how well the finish strips off the piece. If it’s coming off easily, scrape the rest off. (This part is very messy).
  • When the stripper is scraped off, wipe the piece down with mineral spirits to remove the stripping residue.
  • For my piece, there were still some spots with shellac. Instead of going through the stripping process again, I used my hand sander to sand the piece down and get the rest of the finish off.
  • Once the piece is sanded down, wipe off the sawdust with a cloth.
  • I wanted to paint the bottom of the coffee table white and distress it. So I flipped the piece over onto a folding table to lift it up off the ground. I lightly sanded the bottom to rough up the finish and applied two coats of chalk paint.
  • When the chalk paint was dry, I distressed the piece using sandpaper. I recommend starting with a light hand when distressing. It’s easier to distress more than it is to repaint it.
  • After distressing the piece, I flipped it back over to wax the entire piece.
  • I applied two coats of wax with a cloth and buffed it out while working.
A rectangular wooden coffee table with a weathered top is being sanded with an electric sander, which is resting on top. The table sits on a plastic sheet amidst tools and debris scattered on the rough outdoor surface—a classic DIY coffee table makeover in progress.
A partially painted white wooden bed frame is being refurbished outdoors on a grassy lawn. The bed frame rests on a makeshift workbench. Trees and a house are visible in the background, indicating a residential neighborhood—a perfect setting for any DIY home decor project.

Results: The Coffee Table After the Makeover

While it doesn’t look dramatically different, it is lighter, brighter, and doesn’t look as orange. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m sticking with the finish of the coffee table top yet.

But it works for now!

I love that it’s lighter and less orange, but it’s pulling a little too much yellow for me. I’m going to live with it for a little while and see how I like it.

Don’t be surprised if I decide to either bleach and lime wax it, stain with a walnut finish, or completely paint it all together. So stay tuned! And that’s the beauty of painting a piece. If you don’t like how it turns out, you can do it again.

It’s just paint.

A cozy living room with a dark leather sofa adorned with patterned and textured beige cushions. A wooden coffee table, showcasing a DIY coffee table makeover, holds a floral arrangement with white roses. The backdrop includes a white door and a decorative wall piece with greenery.

My Experience With Paint Stripper

As an aside, I want to address the stripping process because I’ve never done it before. I thought the process would be so much easier than it was. Removing that shellac took a lot more time and effort than I anticipated. It was no joke!

I mistakenly believed that the stripper would get the finish right off. Nope – I had to apply the stripper, scrape it, then clean it off then sand it anyway and there were still spots of shellac left!

Certainly, I could have re-applied the stripper and done the process over, but I chose to move on to sanding instead.

If I were to do it again, I’d apply the stripper with a heavier hand, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight to really penetrate the finish.

Since it took so long to strip and sand that shellac finish, I’m OK with letting the piece be for now and living with the look for a little while.

I can always change it down the road.

A cozy living room setup featuring a wooden and white coffee table adorned with a rustic wooden box filled with white flowers and greenery. A knitted blanket drapes over the side of the table, showcasing a charming DIY home decor touch. The background includes a dark leather sofa with light throw pillows.
A cozy living room features a brown leather sofa with decorative white and beige pillows. A rustic wooden coffee table, recently transformed in a DIY coffee table makeover, holds a flower arrangement. A vintage mirror and wreath hang on the wall, and a light rug covers the wooden floor. Plants and decor adorn the space.

Final Thoughts on This Chalk Paint Coffee Table Makeover

While I’m not fully in love with the coffee table just yet, it is MUCH better than it was before with that bright orange hue. And this furniture transformation cost next to nothing to do so it was totally worth doing to make the space look a little less…orange.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear! And feel free to share this post with anyone you think would find it helpful too.

A rustic coffee table makeover with a wooden top and white legs is placed in a living room in front of a dark leather couch with striped pillows. The text above the image reads "COFFEE TABLE MAKEOVER" followed by "stacyling.com".
A stylish living room featuring a wooden coffee table adorned with a floral arrangement in a rustic crate. Text overlay reads "DIY Coffee Table Makeover Using Chalk Paint" with a URL "stacyling.com" in the top-left and bottom sections of the image.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!

Enjoy a beautiful day! xoxo

stacy ling signature
The bricks \'n Blooms guide to a beautiful and easy-care flower garden book by stacy ling
The Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy Care Flower Garden
  • Have you never met a plant you couldn’t kill?
  • Have you dug around in the dirt with nothing to show for it except a sunburn and a sore back?
  • Do you currently enjoy growing flowers, but are looking for more tips and ideas to level up your gardening game?

Then the Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide is for YOU

Buy Now

Related Posts

Stacy Ling

Stacy Ling is author of the best selling book, The Bricks 'n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy-Care Flower Garden, and writes the blog Bricks ’n Blooms from her 1850 farmhouse located in zone 6b northern New Jersey. She is a master gardener who’s been gardening for over 25 years and enjoys sharing her passion to help beginners find their inner green thumb, as well as discover a love for all things plants and flowers. Stacy loves to bring the outdoors inside her home and decorates with a comfy, casual, and cottagecore style. Come grow stuff and create beautiful spaces with her.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

9 Comments

  5. I feel you! I’ve done a little furniture refinishing using the product you did. The plus is that it’s more environmentally friendly. The negative is that it takes longer than its more toxic counterparts! That being said, I’ll still use it going forward because I love my lungs! I am sure that mere photos don’t do it justice. And sometimes you have to live with a piece to see it through other people’s eyes because we are our harshest critics! I think it came out great. I love the distressing on it. And at the end of the day, it’s an awesome recycling project for a thrifted table!

    Reply