10/02/2026
A returning customer(s) asked me if I could redo the top of their coffee table, as they had been looking to replace it and hadn’t seen anything they liked at the right size. This is a well used item and goes with their other furniture, but was showing signs of damage. At first glance it was hard to know if it was varnish or veneer damage - luckily it was only the existing varnish chipping away.
Now the fun part, trying to re-stain the top to match the legs which weren’t being touched. Somehow, small jobs never end up being so small after all.
Initially I started with a custom mix of the Milk Paint wood stains so that I could finish with a gloss varnish, however, the colours were just not working well enough and with veneer there is little to no room for error. So, I then applied a few different SFO (Stain and Finishing Oil) colours. I used Heartwood for the first time as it has a red/mahogany tone to it and it was the perfect start for rich depth, then followed a mix of Walnut and Cappuccino to match the legs while trying not to dull the pattern. The colour looked good, but it then needed a high sheen to match the edge and legs, so I had to apply an oil based varnish I had in my stash (I forget how smelly oil based products are). Importantly though, the finish is what I wanted and what was required for the clients.
I do always advise the use of coasters to prolong the life of coffee tables. In this case, my client has such lovely, unusual coasters that she actually puts a book on top of them to protect the coaster itself. You really have to be a woman to appreciate that logic! 🤣
A little AI help for the staging (plus it caught the colour better than my phone did). It’s actually really difficult to get good photos on items with a gloss finish as it mirrors everything around the room.
