Making a Coffee Table Look Like Weathered Wood

Hello everyone! Today I thought I'd show you guys the newest addition to my home! Actually, it isn't very new, but it sure looks new! Before my husband and I got married, he lived in our current house for a year. During that year, either he, or his "friend" (that's what he claims!) broke his coffee table! As the story goes,  I got this solid wood coffee table from some family and decided to refinish it quickly to replace the not so strong one that broke. Originally, this table had a light brown wood stain on top and bright blue (and I mean BRIGHT!) on the bottom and legs. When I refinished it the first time, I tried to go for a rustic, weathered barn look, but didn't get the look I wanted. The bottom was painted black and distressed, and the top ended up with a more blueish grey colored wood stain. It was a rushed job and I was not happy with how the stain ended up and how the table didn't have the rustic look that I wanted. Now, I finally got the chance to make it look how I dreamed it would be!

Here's some photos of the table before refinishing (again). The top had a much bluer tint to it than the photos show below.

First, I had to sand down right to the wood grain. This took a long time, but by using wood stripping solution it cut the sanding time down in half.

Next, I painted the top white. I used a very bright white paint on top. I was actually quite surprised by just how bright it was! After the paint dried (I did one layer, but you could do two if needed), I used 80 grit sand paper to sand the white paint down just to the raised wood grain. This gave a really cool, weathered look with all of the knots in the wood showing through.

After the white painted table top was lightly sanded down, I used Minxwax's Dark Walnut wood stain. I simply took an old rag and dipped it in the stain and rubbed it on the top of the coffee table. This made the wood look more of the weathered grey that I wanted and it emphasized the wood grain showing through. I then took another clean rag and rubbed the excess stain off the table and let it dry. For the bottom of the table and the legs, I simply brushed the Dark Walnut wood stain on.

Finally, after everything dried, I brushed on a satin (non-glossy) coat of Varathane to protect the table. I am so thrilled with the results! It's exactly how I desired it to look and I learned a new way to make wood look weathered!