Hallway Gallery Before & After

Nesting project #2 or 3 or 10 (I can't remember) was to do something with this bare wall in our hallway entry on a very small budget.

We haven't had a table since Alizea could walk since its top was glass with sharp corners, a trip to the ER just begging to occur as she would round the corner in a scurry, so its been demoted to the back patio. And this is also where the Creation of Man print was displayed so once it moved to Soren's room, this wall has been needing some lovin'.

I began searching for a table/buffet/dresser on Craig's List and for the dimensions I was needing and the price, this was my jackpot:

 It's made of solid wood, has great lines, and was only $20. Only catch? The top of it was decked out in decoupage, meaning it was covered with pictures, then covered in layers & layers of glue, meaning it needed a lot of work to strip.

 Don't get me wrong, I loved the different, beautiful images of the Madonna, Our Lady, our Immaculate Mother of God, however, not particularly on our entry table. And then there were these really bizarre pictures like this one that reminded me of something you'd see on the cover of a Smashing Pumpkins CD.

 And so the stripping began. By this point, several hours into it, I'm wondering what the heck I did and whether this great deal was really worth it...

I spent many an afternoon while the girls were playing out front (& sleepless night) at my little 'work bench' with my razor blades, nail polish remover and sand paper. Many, many hours and several sore, cut up finger tips later, Super Dad took over to finish off the sanding, filling and painting with his spray gun and Vwala!  We have a brand new table!

 ...Add some family pictures and our naked wall is now a welcoming, homey spot to stop, admire and catch your breath!

Thank you to Dad for yet again helping me with one of my crazy ideas and to Craig and his wonderful List :)