End Table Redo

I got side tracked from my bedroom when I decided to focus on my end tables which were needing some serious T.L.C.   One day when I was thrift store shopping with my mother, I saw these cute little tables for $20 each.  I loved the country feel of them, but decided not to buy them.   Later on, my mom and dad went back and bought them as a surprise for me.  

They already had a few nicks and scratches, but over the past couple of years, we have put our own stamp on them, and they are looking pretty worn out.  

I decided to use my new found paint skills to paint the bottom part of the table with the leftover Quilter's White paint from the bathroom remodel.   I also tried out MinWax Polyshades Antique Walnut on the top.   I was trying to darken up the wood and get away from the oak. Since the tables are wood laminate, I couldn't really sand very much, or I would end up on the plywood which doesn't stain well.    I put about 4 coats of the Polyshades on the top.   Every time it got darker, but never quite as dark as I was hoping for.   With each coat I was afraid that I might mess it up.   After four I decided to leave well enough alone.   It looks good, but still like oak...just a darker oak.   

The tables have always been a little short for our furniture, so I decided to add about 5 inches to bring it up to the height of the sofa.  Mike cut some circles and hexagons for me, and I glued them together.   Since we don't have a band saw, he had to cut them with a jig saw and they were pretty rough.   I ended up filling them with wood filler, and then painting that with wood glue to make it smoother.   Then I just glued it on the top of the existing pedestal and painted.  

Here is one table done, and one table not so that you can see the difference.  

And here it is in it's place by my recliner.  

And here are the before and after pictures. 

Before

After