Back a month or so ago, I shared how I went to scope out some items being sold off by a young couple that recently bought a downtown vacant building. I came home with many treasures, like the antique Art Deco waterfall cedar chest I redid (
see it here). While there, I also instantly fell in love with this antique lyre coffee table.
Do you blame me? It's cute, so delicate, and still has some life left in it. I only paid a couple of bucks and there's a reason why. If you look close, do you see what I see?
At some point, someone thought it would be good to update it with some faux wood contact paper. I wasn't sure why they would do that, but I was gonna find out. haha.
I kept saying quietly, "You poor thing..." Here it is with paper removed and a whole lotta residue. blucky!
Removing that paper revealed the real problem See those breaks in the top? Clean through.
DIY TIME
So, of course I had to remove that center panel and start fresh. It came out fairly easy and gave me a better idea of what I was up against and how I was going to proceed.
You might call me crazy, but I LOVE doing this. I love seeing how things are put together and how craftsman of days gone by created such beauty. I was a bit puzzled how I was going to get that frame apart so I could insert a new top without busting it up. However, a gentle hand led me to be able to remove the pins holding the corners and get one short side off creating a slot for my new hardwood ply.
FIXIN'
JC cut a new top insert for me with our table saw while I took care of the other damage that needed tending. What a sweetie to help, right? The feet were missing their brass claw foot toe caps. That let me to jump online and find replacements. I bought a set of authentic ones from an Etsy shop. However, the dude was rude and cancelled my order without notice. His loss - tsk. They cost WAY more than this antique lyre coffee table was going to be worth, so I decided to go with replicas. They are too shiny new for me, so I will be aging them in a bit.
Before I could replace them though, I had my work cut out for me repairing the feet. The damaged was primarily on one end of the table. There were major pieces missing that I first attempted to repair with wood filler, but I was skeptical.
HOT MESS
After I sanded them down with my orbital sander, I just wasn't satisfied with the outcome, so I removed the filler and went to my trusty Bondo. It is an automotive filler that works like a charm. You can see how I've restored other pieces with it
in these posts.
Once I made other repairs, I was finally ready to add the middle panel. I slid it down into one end. Then, I replaced the side and decided to stain it with Early American. That way I could have the entire table in a similar color state.
PAINT
I wasn't going for color match because I knew the replaced plywood wouldn't look as good as the original. Plus with the other repairs, I planned to paint to make it all cohesive. Using my paint brush made it a breeze to complete.
After two coats of a soft white and letting cure in between, I decided to add some dynamics to this antique lyre coffee table with a soft color contrast using a soft green.
I finished the painting and it has cured. However, I still want to create more drama using a dark wax. The replaced center panel got a couple of coats of a poly topcoat for a long-lasting, durable finish.
THE REVEAL
Here's this lovely little lady repaired, refreshed, and ready to go.
I'm delighted with the outcome of this sweet table. Restoring it means it's and ready for a much longer life than it would have had otherwise.
The replaced top is now ready to go and the little feet add just the right finishing touch, don't you think?
If you would like to own this table, you can find it available in
my online store along with many other delights for your home.
Additionally, pin and share this antique lyre coffee table restoration. We all need inspired from time to time, right?
Up next...do you know what these are? I scored both of them in the same curbside shopping run during city cleanup. They became something new!
SEE HERE.
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