If you have living room furniture that includes wood tables, you may want to refinish your end tables to give them a fresh, new look. Personalizing your end tables by decorating with a decoupage finish can give you trendy pieces that will be eye-catching. This can be done easily yourself. Here are some instructions on how to refinish and decorate your end tables.

Materials You Will Need:

• Painter's tape
• Face mask
• Goggles
• Sandpaper in both course and fine grit
• Orbital sander
• Stain in desired color
• A clean piece of cloth
• Polyurethane
• Old photographs

Preparing The Surface

If your end tables have a glass top, you will want to remove the glass before starting the project. If you need to buy a new glass top, contact your local glass deal er such as A-1 Emergency Glass Service. You can still decorate your tables around the glass. If there is any area on your table that you do not wish to stain, then cover it with painter's tape to keep it from becoming colored. Place your tables on newsprint to protect your flooring, or take your tables outdoors to do the project. Protect your eyes with goggles and wear a face mask to avoid breathing in sanding particles.

Using sandpaper, sand the entire surface of your end tables. You will want to start with the course-grit paper to remove any paint or stain that is on your table. You can do this by hand if you have a lot of time or you could use an orbital sanding machine to move along the process. Switch to the fine-grit sandpaper to smooth the surface.

Staining The Tables

To add color to your tables, you will want to add stain. Using a clean cloth, dip into the stain container. Rub into the tables going both with and against the grain of the wood so the color will saturate the entire piece evenly. Coat the entire surface of each table and allow to dry thoroughly. If you desire a darker color, you can apply a second coat and repeat the entire process.

Decorating the Tables.

Go through your photographs and pick meaningful events in your life to decorate your tabletops. Place them in a pleasing arrangement in a collage-manner or neatly lined up if you would rather. Use a layer of decoupage glue to adhere your photos to the table. This can be purchased at an arts and crafts store. Allow to dry. Apply a coating of polyurethane to cover the photos completely, giving your tabletops a glossy shine.