Two-Toned Solid Wood End Table

A design aimed at highlighting an oak in-lay, experimenting with water-based stain, and combining stain and paint finishes.

I made my first Facebook Marketplace purchase and now have a wood end table project to work on (see below). The grain pattern on the oak top is really eye-catching so I know that is something I want to highlight when I refinish it (thanks Mom for the expertise on recognizing oak grain patterns!). Beyond that, I am really torn on what stain and paint colors to use on it and will have to give it some thought. I’m also debating whether to add a simple shelf to the bottom of the piece...time to start brainstorming.

I think I am going to do a two-toned look, using stain to highlight some of the more stand-out features of the wood, and then I will paint the other parts. I have a somewhat strange design in mind for which parts I want to stain vs. paint, so we’ll see if I stick to that plan between now and when I start painting. Since I have done a more traditional farmhouse look and/or white paint for my last couple of projects, and since I plan to do that for my next coffee table project, this seemed like a good project to do something different. I’m going with black paint! (I know, I’m really venturing outside the box here…)

My purchase list:

• Grey/dark primer

• Black latex paint

• Walnut water-based stain

• Water-based polyurethane top coat

This time I got my supplies at my local Home Depot, and I have to say that the people in the paint department there were wonderful!

A good, quick how-to and tips blog for two-toned pieces (this is more important for this piece than it was for the last coffee table that I did since this one cannot be taken apart) can be found here.

Part-way through the preparation process, I found myself pivoting away from my original design. The fairly ornate legs were not sanding down very well and I worried they would not end up looking very good once stained. So now I am doing a more simplified two-toned design with the whole end table painted black, except for the stained oak in-lay on top. I’ve completed the painting process and am now letting the paint curate a bit so that I can tape off the in-lay for staining (unless I decide to really trust the steadiness of my hands and my lines).

Wow, what a difference water-based stain makes. I was trying to do it quickly before heading off to brunch, so I hadn’t even turned on fans or opened the doors, and even still I could barely smell it. It was wonderful!

The side/end table is finally finished and I’m about ready to put it on Facebook Marketplace. Fingers crossed.