DIY Zebra Stripe End Table

Hello everyone! Hope you are all in the best health and happiness. I am so happy to finally share this project. It is looooooong over due for a reveal. So long over due we'll just have to stop talking about it. K? K! (o:

This end table was my moms and being that we hate getting rid of stuff that's ugly but still functional and needed, I decided to give it a facelift. I wanted something different, punchy and with animal print, but not crazy and standing out from the rest of my home.

The supplies: 

Medium sanding block

Wood Filler

Ace brand primer spray and white spray paint

Folk Art gold craft paint 

Small paint brush

I removed the hardware and spray painted and let that sit aside. I used Ace brand Gold Spay. I've said this before, and I'll say again, Ace brand spray paints are THE WORST paints I've used in my life. Especially the metallic. I did this project when Ace was the only option I knew, but I've now moved on to Krylon brands.  The problem with their metallics in particular is that they get dull and lose all the metallic sheen. 

Left: The hardware spray painted with Ace brand gold spray paint.

Right: A rock spary painted with Krylon gold spray paint. 

See the difference in shine and shimmer? 

There were some patches in the surfaces from years of wear and tear. I smooth them out with a sanding block. Be carful when sanding furniture made of compressed wood and covered in some sort of vinyl paneling. You don't want to reach the compressed wood. 

I used maybe two or three cans of primer, again Ace brand = lame, because the primer was so thin. I also used a couple cans of white just to get a decent coat on. When painted anything with legs, I usually turn it upside down and paint the legs first. I get better coverage that way and avoid missing "blind spots". Blind spots are those spots you don't notice while spray or brush painting, but you notice you missed when you're sitting on a chair or couch and are at eye level or lower than the furniture you painted. Plus it's easier on my back to paint that way than to try and bend in awkward positions. 

If the piece is small enough, I can flip the table while the legs are still wet and continue with the surface. After I was done painting, I took a yellow color pencil and drew my pattern freehand.

I looked from some true Zebra patterns for inspiration and copied the center pattern on this rug. 

If you look very closely, you'll see a faint outline of the stripes.

My Dad and Brother were visiting at the time and my dad helped by painting the first coat of gold craft paint. The stripes took about three coats because it was very thin and translucent. 

After three coats the gold was still a little patchy and translucent, but it ended up looking good anyway.

The white paint hasn't held up well, it's chipped in many places, but at least there are enough chips to make it look like a rustic piece lol. I might re-due this table with a better paint I have, but in the mean time I'm enjoying it's unique character.  

I've always wanted some sort of animal print in my home without tackily representing the 80's or "New Joy-zy" lol. No offense to New Jersey, but it's the first thing I think of when I think of animal print. Don't ask me why. I also wanted to do something more exciting than the plain beige zebra pattern that's been popular like these...

Do you have any animal print in your home? Would you dare consider it? I am really happy with the way this turned out. It was daring just enough without being obnoxious. If you really want to try this or another animal print, consider a small foot stool, a pillow or if you really don't want to much effort print out a nice zebra print and frame it if you can't stand it's easily removable. So what do you think of my small animal print introduction to my home? Please leave a comment below and thanks again for stopping by! 

-Debora