This was taken about 2 years ago, when TwoCrackedJars was experimenting with electric lights. Love the shadows made by the honeycomb pattern on the jars. 

We didn't get very far with them as we were worried about the heat output from the light. It's been on the backburner since then. Maybe I'll get around to addressing it one day. 

It's February and its time to reveal my second 3Rs project. This time it's a straight forward restoration of a trio of coffee tables.  There are two small square tables and a longer rectangular table in this project. They were looking very tired with scratches, burns and watermarks on the finish.

Two of the finished tables have been placed in the living room of the new apartment. The third one has gone into the bedroom as a catchall for my papers and bags. Being a table, I only empty the contents of my pocket onto it. If it was a chair it would probably be draped with clothes.

These tables have been in the family for a long time. I remember them arriving a few days before Deepavali about 30 odd years ago as part of a new lounge set.  Mum tells me that it's made from rubber wood but it has this lovely parquet like effect with different coloured timber. My original plan was to sand back the table and legs, give the table surface a few coats of clear varnish and paint the legs a white colour to contrast with the natural finish.

As I was giving the tables a last dusting before painting, I was admiring the grains and  patterns on the legs and I had second thoughts about painting it. But I had bought the paint (water based latex)  and thought it would be a shame to waste it.  So I started painting one side and knew it was a mistake right away. I didn't even let the paint dry. I cleaned it off with a wet cloth and never looked back. I'm really happy I didn't go through with the paint idea as it would have totally ruined the tables.

A few days later I was reading a DIY blog about choosing pieces for restoring and it said to beware of painted furniture as paint is often used to cover up defects or poor materials.  I'm so glad Iistened to my inner voice and decided to go with a clear gloss finish as there was nothing to cover up on these babies. I hope you enjoy the before and after pictures and that you too listen to your inner voice.

This side table is sanded and ready for varnishing. I really wanted to make this into a games table with a chess board painted in the middle. However, on second thought, the table has a lovely parquetry type design to it and it would be a shame to paint it.

This is what it looked like before I started working on it. It was scratched and burnt in one corner, probably an unwatched candle. It's going to feel brand new once a few coats of varnish goes on.

I really want to try making a painted piece of furniture but I'm so hesitant about covering up a lovely piece of timber. I need to find a piece of furniture that I'm not going to feel bad painting over !

Update 24/01/2016  After some lovely inspiration from the Upcycle and DIY Australia Facebook group I've found a way to have my cake and eat it too.  Have to wait till I finish to see how it turns out.

I always imagine what my dogs would say if they could talk. Every pet owner is probably familiar with putting words in their pet's mouth. This is what I imagine Kip was thinking when these photos were taken.