Turning a $5 Yard Sale Find into a Faux Marble Tabletop
Welcome to Sawdust and Cornbread. In today’s blog, I am excited to share how I transformed a $ 5-yard sale find into an expensive-looking faux marble dining table. I’ll be using some easy inexpensive faux marbling and aging techniques along the way. Let’s start flipping this yard sale find!
Unearthing the Table
When I first spotted this octagon dining table I was mesmerized by the shape. I have never before encountered an octagonal table. It was crammed between a bunch of junk leaned against a barn. I couldn’t believe they were surrendering this unique item for only $5! I snatched it up and brought it home to clean up.
Can I Finish a Laminate Table-Top?
Upon closer inspection, I discovered the tabletop is covered in a dark, artificial wood grain laminate. A lot of people believe you can’t do any painting on synthetic laminate. That used to be true, but now, with all the new paint and primer technology, you can paint almost anything as long as you take the time to prepare the surface. In this case, I took fine-grade sandpaper and scuffed the surface just enough to knock off the shine. Then I applied a smooth even coat of all-purpose primer to help my marble faux finish adhere.
Preparing the Table for the Faux Marble Finish
With the tabletop sanded and primed, I was ready to let those creative juices flow. I rolled on 2 coats of pure white latex paint allowing each coat to dry thoroughly in-between. Then, I took a pencil and began adding little lines and veins directly to the dry white paint. I am no artist, but I looked at photos of real marble slabs to use as a guide. The most important thing is to keep all the lines random. Nature hardly ever has straight lines and angles. Keep the lines curvy and natural. To help achieve a more natural effect, hold the pencil loosely at the end rather than the standard way you would hold it when writing.
Adding Details to the White Faux Marble
After I had all my preliminary veining drawn, I stepped back to make sure it looked good as a whole. Once I was happy with the look, I took a very thin paintbrush and darkened the lines with black latex paint. Again, hold the brush loosely toward the end. Don’t worry about tracing the pencil lines perfectly. They serve as a guide and add depth and character to the finished project.
Darkening the Main Veins
I create mother veins, or the main veins, by dipping the brush into paint until it covers the bristles 3/4 of the way. Then I press the brush down on its side heavily. Without reloading the brush, I lightly pull it along applying less pressure until the paint dwindles to nothing. This creates a very natural fade. If the mother veins ever look too dark or sharp, I take a wider dry brush and whisp it lightly back and forth over the line until it is less pronounced. Still using the dry brush, I finish up with one long stroke following the original line.
Forming Smaller Veins in the Faux Marble
Forming the baby (or secondary) veins is easy. I use an extremely fine thin brush to pull curved lines out from the mother lines. I very seldom add paint for these lines. If there isn’t enough wet paint left on the mother vein, I add just a touch of fresh black paint, press, and pull it until it dwindles out like before.
Adding Shine and Depth to the Faux Marble
When all the lines look satisfactory, it’s time to start adding some shine and depth to the marble. I opted to use a high shine clear epoxy coat. Rather than applying the epoxy in one pour, I decided to add dimension to the marble by adding thin layers with more veining between each. I poured a thin coat, allowed that to dry, then lightly added more thin veining. Always be sure to blend the new veining well with a dry brush. I continued adding layers this way for 4 or 5 layers. I made the lines finer, yet more defined as I got closer to the top. Keeping wider lines at the bottom, and stacking thinner lines directly on top, creates the illusion of depth in your marble.
Finishing the Faux Marble Table-Top
I finished the faux marble table top off by adding a few additional coats of epoxy without adding any more lines. I allowed the final coat to drip freely down the sides and under the tabletop edge to offer some protection under there. To help smooth and guide the epoxy, I used a foam brush. There were still a few bumpy areas under the tabletop lip after it dried. These were easily smoothed using a bit of sandpaper.
How the Table Turned Out
The faux marble table-top is beautiful and convincing. Who would have thought dark laminate could be turned into such an elegant eating surface. One word of caution about anything with a clear epoxy finish. Clear epoxy does tend to yellow when exposed to direct sunlight. I placed the table in front of a sunny window and noticed some discoloration on the window side after several months. I moved the table to an area away from the sun and haven’t had any problems since. It has been in its current state for 7 or more years.
Another Way to Learn How to Create Faux Marble
I hope you enjoyed today’s project. Be sure to come back next week to see how I completed the faux marble table with a unique table base. I will be sharing shabby chic/ farmhouse forced aging techniques. You can also see the complete project and step-by-step tutorial video on the Sawdust and Cornbread YouTube Channel. You’ll find all kinds of helpful home inspiration there.
Thanks for joining me!
~Lora Lea
