Bone inlay inspired console table.
As a 'thank you' gesture, I wanted to do a special piece for my aunt and uncle who had offered a lot of help when our family needed it after giving birth to first my daughter, then my son. I had previously painted a dresser for my daughter's room that was inspired by the bone-inlay furniture I came across online.
A bone inlay dresser that served as inspiration for some of my furniture refinishing projects.
I recalled that my aunt really liked the dresser and, being an artist herself, she appreciated the work that this type of project requires. In addition, her home is beautifully decorated in an eclectic style, so this kind of piece would fit right in. I just knew that this kind of piece of furniture would be well-loved in their home. I decided I'd revamp a console table because it's a versatile piece so it could be placed virtually in any room in the house and serve many purposes.
I found a great table on kijiji. It had the right look (square, clean lines), it had two drawers in the front, which I really wanted it to have, and it was not very deep (so it doesn't become an obstruction if placed in the entryway or hallway). Also, it was built well, out of solid wood, so it was quality. It did need a few tweaks though (My apologies for the lack of a 'before' shot; I was so excited to get started on this project that I forgot to take a picture!). It was very tall so I had to cut off a good 10" off the legs. It was also previously painted and the paint job wasn't done well. I had to spend some extra time sanding off uneven paint, chipped paint here and there, and generally prepping the surface.
As with any furniture painting project, after sanding, I primed the entire piece with two coats of a good quality primer. I then painted the table and drawer fronts with a paint and primer in one paint in my favourite shade of black. Once the paint was dry, it was time for the most exciting part of the project - panting in the "bone-inlay' design! I began by painting straight lines along all the edges of the table with a light cream coloured paint. Then I painted a "border" along the edges of the drawer fronts, top surface, and sides of the table and filled it in with "crosses". Next, I worked on the shape of the winding stems. I initially drew the stems with a pencil and then I painted them on with paint. Finally, I painted on the leaves.
I just love the way it turned out! Maybe even more than the dresser I had previously done. My aunt and uncle placed the table in their entrance way and say that it's one of their favourite pieces of furniture!
Although this painting project is very detail-oriented and thus time consuming, I find the painting very therapeutic. Stay tuned for more bone-inlay inspired projects!
