apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I vote paint it some wow color in a high gloss.

I've seen Chinese style tables like these painted white or another color with high-gloss paint to give it that lacquered look. They end up looking both modern and traditional at the same time. I think that could work in this instance.

It's a great sculptural shape. How about silver leaf, which would be easy, or black lacquer, a bit more work.

In the pic it looks out of proportion to the rest of the furniture, particularly the sofa.

If you want to keep it, have it painted black lacquer or high gloss.

I vote "save it, but..."

You should paint the top look like faux bois, and paint the underside either a solid chocolate brown or solid black. And then varnish the heck out of it.

Or sand the faux finish off and stain then seal it.

I think it could work in a Chinese laquer kind of way. Either bright red or another bright, funky color like lime green or yellow

hm ... sand away the paint and see what's underneath it.
if it is bent plywood, then just leave the finishing clear and show the bent layers.

or you can always do that turn-it-upside-down-and-put-on-a-glass-top trick.

i like the curl and the shape of it in your space as most piece you have are very angular. It'd be nice to keep it.

Paint to a light color in high gloss.

I agree about keeping it but with a paint job -- either high gloss black or maybe even a graphite/charcoal/silver color

I concur! Paint it some fabulous color (black, white, or something crazy bright . . . ) and then high gloss the heck out of it!!!!!!!!

How about gold leaf?

I don't think it goes with you stuff, but it has a good story. I would try to give/sell it to someone who will carry on the story.

your stuff.

Chinese red baby, all the way.

Do you have documentation that it came from the house of an actress? Have you checked to see if there are fans collecting her stuff? Are there any home design magazine articles about this actress, that might even show this table? Before you re-finish, check for added value.

I agree - a bright lacquer or silverleaf job would do the trick fabulously.

I think it is way too big in comparison to the rest of the furnishings. Get rid of it and get something more to scale.

I think it goes best in your space as is.

This way it's more of an ironic touch which I'm guessing is what the wing back chair and your traditional table and cabinet flanking the couch are doing, no? It's a little disjointed.

The other items in your space are modern, mcm and contemporary.

If the table were mine I'd do this:

Paint the underside and edges an accent color, possibly the wall color or gold leaf. Then I would find a very cool graphic or textured wallpaper and cover the top. Shellac the whole thing and you're done.

ooh ooh, i dig the idea of sanding it and just finish it clear to accentuate the lines of it.

I love it as is, but agree it doesn't really go with that room or furniture.

how much did it cost, btw? (or is that rude, sorry)

Can I change my vote to "give it to me"?? ;^)

It is a bit overside for the room you show it in.

If you keep it, I definitely would change it. (Although it's a good point that if you can demonstrate the provenance, you might sell it as is for more than it is worth to you...)

The style is sort of Chinese contemporary, so I'd go high gloss, and the logical colors are Chinese red, black, white or some metallic. Less logical but still potentially fun and not too jarring with the style might be midnight blue, spring green, or yellow...

A bold pop of color. Green, yellow, red, bright blue. Something that POPS in the space. Without seeing the rest of the space, it's hard to tell. Or you could do dark brown on the top and on the underside do a pop of color if you are afraid of too much pop. :) Good luck!

Laura
http://www.grafxnerd.net

I'll take it, if you're not uber far away. I'm in western Massachusetts. How much do you want for it? I'm reachable at frecklestars at gmail dot com.

I think it is a lovely table, as is. And the fact that it is faux marble is a good thing from my perspective - what would an actual marble table that size weigh?! You would probably need reinforced floor joists below it if it was actually marble.

I agree with the others who state that it is out of scale relative to the other furniture in the room. The sofa, along with the other smaller-scaled furniture seems too small next to the sofa.

I have seem interiors with one or two over-scaled pieces that worked, however, there usually were fewer total pieces in those interiors. I think the coffee table (as is) could work in the room with the sofa in an eclectic way if you removed most of the other furniture that is scaled with the sofa (e.g. the wing chair, the side table and the credenza) and you added a single, large, impactful piece like one of those tall (floor to ceiling) mirrors. I think all of the smaller pieces are adding visual "noise" rather than enhancing the composition overall.

I think the sofa color does harmonize well with the marble table, however I think the color of the walls is a bit off. I would vote for painting the room another color (either a light or dark gray or taupe) rather than painting the coffee table.

The 80s are coming back, and this was a high-end piece of furniture in its day. It might be highly sought after in a few years (especially since it has an interesting Hollywood provenance), but if you paint it, it's a $20 Craigslist piece. Sell it if you don't like it. Don't ruin it by doing the trendy glossy paint thing.

Gosh, there are some great ideas posted here...my first instinct was to take it to an automotive painter for a quality lacquer job...but the idea of leafing or veneering sounds good too. If value is your concern, then Lisa is right that messing with it changes that, but if you love it for you, then make it work for you. Good Luck!

You could throw it on its side and put a slab of over-thick wood on it for a console.

You could turn it upside down and throw a huge-ass rectangle bean-bag in there - in linen or tan ticking.

Hell, if it's not too heavy you could drill holes through and suspend it from the ceiling like a canopy. More holes would let you snake CFL lights through to highlight those awesome curves.

or you could save it for sledding. I assume you have snow at least part of the year.

nothing wrong with that table, it's gorgeous and well-made. what's making this interior look "dated" is not the fault of the table. update the room by using a nice area rug, get some hipper looking pillows and nice window treatments. re-think the arrangement of furniture.

I say take it back to its humble roots. Let it fly its plywood flag by sanding it down and varnishing it or even applying a birch-bark veneer. That's if you want to keep it.

If not, I agree with the earlier poster about researching its provenance. There's no telling what a celebrity attachment will bring.

My thought was black lacquer top and gold or silver leaf the underside for a peek-a-boo contrast surprise that will also lighten up and elevate it.
I love the shape.

Somehow, i feel that it will look modern as is if the surrounding chair and sofa look modern. But it might not be an option for you.

Why not turn it on its side, put a glass top on it and use as a console or sofa table?

I love its shape. Looks like Japanese Kadai, just bigger... If you don't love it, give it to me!!!

Here's your table in black lacquer with Le Corbusier chairs, deelish: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/06/peter-and-elaines-asian-bauhaus/

Okay let's gossip. Which actress?

I like it as is. I would throw a huge flokati under it and pour a mountain of cocaine on top. Let the good times roll.

I love it!
Your room has darker color scheme that's why it's not suiting. I think it's a gorgeous piece, it will look better if your room is in for example: Lime green white brown.
Or go : White Gray Pale Pink.

Your furniture are all great.
You need a brighter wall.

I was going to suggest knitting a cozy for it, a la knitta please. But I realize that is probably the worst suggestion you'll get. Or the best. One or the other.

Cover it with small mosaic tiles, say 3/8 to 1/2 inches, which would wrap around the curves. I'm seeing deepest emerald green, but you could put some kind of imagery on the top.

Lacquer would totally work. But what about woodgrain contact paper!! Or strip the finish and paint off, and see what's under it. It might be beautiful raw. You can always lacquer it if it isn't.

I think all the glossy-painted Chinese Chippendale furniture is going to look very dated soon.

High-gloss black or dark brown or dark, dark red would look fabulous. You could even add silver or gold accents if you're feeling bold. Teeze's idea sounds like a wower.

Paint the room a new color, maybe a dark taupe or slate gray, and remove all the furniture except for the sofa and the table. Live with it for awhile. You might decide to keep the table, get rid of the other furniture and totally re-do the whole space.

I'm with Lisa(Montreal) on this one. Not sure what the obsession is with following trends on painting everything "pop" colors and high-gloss...

I believe this is a piece that's similar in style or "in the manner of" Karl Springer.

http://palumbo.1stdibs.com/itemdetails.php?id=306787

The original inspiration is clearly Chinese...they are called scroll tables, and originated in Northern China (Shaanxi) and were made of Elmwood. And no, they were usually in the natural color, and I think the gaudy colors came after...not everything Chinese is Chinese "Red," etc.

It seems the problem is not the color, but that this piece doesn't go with the rest of your furniture and proportions. It's worth preserving it and trying to sell it on Ebay or some other auction so people who are looking for these pieces -- which were high-end in their day -- will pay top dollar to get that "80s" look.

Sell it as is.... What's the point of taking a design piece, meant for it's own time (which is unfortunately not ours) and trash it with some expensive paintjob that is basically going to make it worthless. It is a vintage piece with market value... sell it and get your money back (and maybe more), keep the piece's dignity and yours. And get something more current...

Definitely do not get rid of it.

Love the shape and don't really even mind the marble.

It's so sculptural I'm all about turning it into a work of art. Painting it some gorgeous french gray color and having an artist illustrate something loose with bits of color on it and do the underneath in gold leaf:-) Have fun!

Please, please sell it as is to someone who will love it unconditionally. It's wrong for your room. Trying to make everything fit with a coffee table would be like sewing a shirt to a button.

Oh - and @pollymagoo: glad I'm not the only nosey AT'er!

high gloss laquer... NOW

I vote for padding it and "upholstering" it with some nice canvas-y fabric. glue gun.

Um... DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO IT! please, please, please. It's so rad. Yes it is a coffee table, but it should be treated as a sculpture. Faux shmo! It looks awesome and would be great in a minimalist (to some extent) room with other heavy pieces in wood or metal or glass. Luxe it up, industrialize, go rustic, whatever you choose to do, though, should be based on that table if you're going to keep it the way that it is. Anytime you have a WOW piece like this it should be the focal and the spring board.

If you do choose to alter it, however, the other readers are right on the high gloss suggestion. It's a strong enough shape to still be striking minus the faux marble and a slick coat will highlight the incredible curvature.

Do you remember the 70s, Sarah? Back then there was a fad for painting everything, from bathtubs to Victorian furniture, in glossy enamel paints.

Then in the 80s everyone cursed the names of their 70s predecessors as they struggled to strip all of that amateur paintwork off cast iron, marquetry panels and carved brass.

My point is that this high-end, professionally painted 80s table is rare, and to interfere with it to make it trendy will decimate its value. You'd be much better off selling it and buying a smaller table that precisely suits your needs and taste.

I voted "give it to me.."!! I am in PVD if you decide to sell it or get rid of it. Seriously, I'd take it off your hands.

It would look fabulous lacquered white or red but, if you're keeping it in that environment, it's definitely over scale for the space and surrounding furnishings so you might consider a finish in a darker tone like espresso or black. If you're going the route of painting and lacquering, take the picture and measurements to an auto painting shop for an estimate, it's such a big piece that if you're going to do it right - do it up right!

I hate it, sorry... who's the actress?? ;)

Don't paint over it - think back to what made you excited about it in the first place and try to enhance that aspect of it (was it the shape, the finish, the oversized nature?).

Tha way to make it work would be to add a few more modern, clean accessories and play up the unifying colors between your current items and the table - grey and honey. You might want to think about painting the walls...

I vote for leafing it. But put a base color you like undeneath first, so the spaces between the leaf show the color. That'll make it very fun and modern. I bet that faux marble is a decent substrate for leafing and paint. You could also try an accent color on the returns front and back for that extra little something :)

I hate it too. Make a profit by selling it and naming the actress and buy something more suiting the rest of your style.

one word: sledgehammer

I would keep it, and embrace it for what it is, and pair it with bold pieces that can stand up to it. I'd get a bolder, '40s lamp for the end table and try to blend the '80s with original Hollywood regency. And I would repaint the walls to something lighter and fresher, maybe a spring green, and keep my eye out for a new sofa.

maybe cut it in half. maybe it's too thick. just came across this, btw: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/inspiration/color-combo-black-white-and-055938

I'm against the high gloss Chinese look... too predictable.

It would look gorgeous in a matte charcoal grey color

http://www.cottageandbungalow.com/sh-sp48.html reminds me of this table at Cottage and Bungalow

I agree - get rid of it to someone who appreciates its lines and artistry. It doesn't go with your home as it is, and you will find something perfect that DOES go with what you have, and also pass on this find to someone who loves it.

Every decade spends a lot of time undoing the "rehabs" of the previous decade or two. Honestly, I can't believe you younger folks think the styles of the 70s are "cool." They are so incredibly tacky to me, who grew up in that decade. Dated. Trendy. Short-lived.

BUT... this 80s style table will be seen as so cool to someone in the near fugure: retro and hip. Let it be what it is.

Mary

agree with letting it find it's next owner who will appreciate it as it is, and you should indulge in something you really want!