A week or so ago I decided we needed a new piece to serve as a coffee table in our living room.  Something low profile, yet airy and not bulky.  I stole the antique wash stand that we were using and put it down in the fireplace room where the Christmas tree is.

I decided to browse The Creamery and see if there was anything that fit the description that was cheap.

I came across a ratty old piano bench that would need a little love.  It was losing the nails that held it together.  Upon first glances it seemed sturdy but by the time I got it home it was clearly needing some reinforcement.  I took it to the garage and hammered the loose nails back in.

Once home I found that maybe it was a bit too dark in color and got lost amongst the dark leather sofa and chairs.

This was an easy fix as I had some left over chalk paint I could brighten it up with.

I decided to leave the top dark and just brighten up the base and legs.  Because I planned to distress the painted portion, I only applied one thin coat of the chalk paint.

When it dried I sanded it smooth to reveal some of the original dark finish and applied clear wax to seal the paint.

Here is how it turned out…

Just the right mix of light and dark, and now it stands out against the furniture.

Now that I had the perfect sized coffee table, I needed to dress it up a bit!

I tied some pine branches to glass bottles with some twine and placed them on a pretty white platter for a simple yet pretty vignette.

I also decided to carry on the natural greens and white theme by placing some boughs and faux berries in a white urn placed on the side table.  This makes for a beautiful smelling vignette on this table that didn’t cost a penny!

(Oops! I hadn’t added the berries yet in this pic!)

Anyways… I love using greenery to decorate!  It doesn’t cost anything if you are able to access some bushy pine or spruce trees that could use a little pruning.  It doesn’t get any fresher than that!  And… no trees were sacrificed in the process!  Win, Win! :)

On a last note… I posted this picture a week or so ago and forgot to see if anyone knew what this was hanging on the wall by the Christmas tree.

I had found it on a farm in a junk pit and thought it had a nice rustic look about it.  I liked the patina on the wood and thought I could make it into a message center of sorts or some funky type of pin board.  It looks like it could have been a part of some sort of a sifter… I only think this as there were antique machinery parts in the pit as well.

If anyone has any idea as to what it could be I’d be very interested to know.  For now it is a pretty piece of wall art in our fireplace room :)

Cheers to a very Merry Christmas!

Smiles!

Terry