Woman transforms old coffee table with Bunnings items

A savvy Queensland woman has managed to turn an old $30 coffee table into a trendy coastal dining piece “worth hundreds”.

A Queensland woman has managed to turn an old table into a trendy, coastal-looking dining piece “worth hundreds”.

Sonja Gilford, from the Gold Coast, nabbed the furniture item on Facebook Marketplace for just $30, telling news.com.au its affordable price tag is what was most appealing.

“It was also in decent condition and I knew it wouldn’t cost me too much to do up,” the 47-year-old said.

Sonja said she had just upcycled an entertainment unit that was dark in colour and wanted something light and bright which is “popular at the moment”.

A Queensland woman nabbed this old coffee table on Facebook Marketplace for $30. Picture: Facebook

She spent roughly $150 at Bunnings – bearing in mind she didn’t use all of the products on the one coffee table.

“I’ve used the Dulux white paint on two other tables,” she said.

Sonja shared snaps of her transformation to a popular Bunnings group on Facebook attracting hundreds of ‘likes’ and comments.

“This is gorgeous! Great job,” one user wrote.

“You’ve done a really classy job,” said another, while a third added: “It looks lovely and modern, well done.”

She transformed it into this using a bunch of Bunnings items. Picture: Facebook

Sonja said it took about eight hours to complete, adding that you just need a few tools.

“The first thing I did was sand the top of the table and the drawers right back to bare pine with an electric sander. The bits I painted white I hand sanded because they don’t need to be bare timber as they’re going to be painted, so I just needed to scuff them up,” she said.

Sonja then applied a Dulux stain and mould block from Bunnings ($31.90) before applying low gloss white paint ($55.50) that she mixed with water.

“Because its surface was stained, if you don’t use a blocker, when you put fresh paint on it, the stain will run through,” she said.

She sanded back the top and front of the drawers to bare pine using an electric sander and hand sanded the parts she painted white. Picture: Facebook

She also replaced the drawer knobs and slides. The entire project took about eight hours. Picture: Facebook

“You can buy liming white to do the white wash, but I just made my own white wash by mixing 1:1 paint and water and painted it on with a brush.

“The liming white might be easier to use as I did find it a little hard to get it even with the paint mixture.”

The nifty Queenslander applied three coats to make sure it was fully opaque.

“I don’t like any see-through bits. I painted inside the draws too so when you open them, they match the exterior.”

As the drawer slides weren’t in the best condition, Sonja replaced them with two from Bunnings for roughly $13 a pair and door knobs at $4 each.

To complete the transformation, she applied three coats of the Cabbots Cabothane satin finish ($32.20).

Sonja said it’s a great way to transform a nice piece of furniture that’s solid and sturdy, for not too much money.

“It’s such a good way to have a nice, modern piece of furniture without spending hundreds of dollars,” she said, adding she managed to save by doing it herself.

One thing she advised Facebook users keen to give it a go was to use a paint stripper, particularly on heavily varnished pieces.

“You can get them from Bunnings and just paint it on with a brush. You don’t need to do anything but just scrape it off with a scraper.”

Many loved her affordable upcycle, describing it as “modern” and “amazing”.