I love updating little tables and usually end up painting them. But I wanted to do something a little different with this one and at first considered tearing up brown paper bags and placing the pieces on its top to simulate leather.
Then I remembered this little gem I had picked up at a thrift store in anticipation of using it on a project in the future. Well, the future is now!
The procedure I used is very similar to what I had considered with the brown paper bags, but the texture and thickness of the papers are different and the paper isn't crumpled. To start with, I tore out several pages from different sections of the book (I didn't want all of the words to start with the same letter. As if anyone would notice!). I then tore off the "white space" borders on the tops, bottoms and sides of each page.
Since the dictionary pages had two columns, it made tearing the pages into smaller pieces easy. I just tore the paper down the center and then tore each column into smaller pieces. I got four to six pieces per page. I tried to vary the shapes of the torn pieces so they wouldn't all look the same. I randomly placed the torn pieces over the table top until I thought I had enough to cover it.
Then I removed all the pieces and painted the black border that was already on the table top with a little acrylic paint. I also painted the brass knob black so it would coordinate more with the black border and the black print on the dictionary pages.
Starting in the center of the table, I used a little Mod Podge on the back of each torn piece and placed them, one by one, on the table. After each piece was glued on the table I used a wooden brayer (originally bought for wallpaper border) and rolled it over the pieces to get out air and excess Mod Podge before applying the next piece. I randomly overlapped the pieces and alternated the angle of each piece. I did make sure each piece faced the same way so they could be read when viewed from the front of the table. The process was really fast but it slowed down once I reached the edges. There, some pages had to be torn specifically for the area to be filled. Also, the outside edges of the pages had to be cut straight to fit the edges of the table. I found it was easiest to make the straight cut on the edge then tear the other edges of the papers to fit. It sounds a little complicated but it was really easy.
Once the entire top was covered, I brushed two coats of Mod Podge on the top, drying between coats, in order to further seal the ink on the pages and to secure the torn edges. After the second coat of Mod Podge was dry, I then brushed on a coat of clear polyurethane for a smoother finish and more protection. I also coated the black border painted with acrylic paint and the knob with a coat of polyurethane.
This photo shows a few dark spots where the polyurethane wasn't quite dry, but it lets you see how the pieces were torn and how they were placed on the table top.
And here's the entire top with its refreshed black border and drawer knob.
I love this little one of a kind table and think it would be great in a reading area or in a home office - or really anywhere you want a unique piece of furniture.
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