A Makeover Transforms This “Unique” Online Find into a Living Room Focal Point
Online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and OfferUp are great sources for finding secondhand gems. With creativity and inspiration, you can turn an abandoned cabinet into kitchen storage or a dated brown chair into a striped statement piece. Plus, users on these platforms often negotiate prices, which makes it easier to find amazing deals.
That’s what happened for wife and husband Paula and Martin (@mismatchedhome). While on a U.K.-based classifieds site called Gumtree (which Paula says is like “less popular version of Facebook Marketplace”), Paula saw an ad for something that simply said “unique coffee table.” And unique it was! Here’s how Paula and Martin made a table with a silver panther base work in their reading room.
First, a new glass top was in order.
Paula loved the base of the table and saw major potential, but she wanted to make a few changes, starting with replacing the glass top. (The old glass top wasn’t secured to the base, and Paula wanted the table to be durable and safe around kids — and a pup.)
“We got rid of the original glass and made a template for a new glass top,” Paula says. “We gave those measurements to a glazier, and they cut new glass for us with holes so we could safely screw the glass into the top of the panther. We got black fasteners and attached the new glass top to the panther, and now it’s super secure … we’re not worried about actually using it as a coffee table.”
Paula says it “was costly in comparison to what [they] actually paid for the coffee table, but worth it considering how rare the finished product now is.” (The grand total for the project — panther included — was about $490.”
The panther got a paint job.
The secondhand find was once silver, but Paula and Martin thought a black base would actually work better in their living room. (“Have you ever seen a silver panther before?” Paula asks.) The couple cleaned the panther, sanded it, then spray-painted it black, and Martin hand-painted the yellow eyes with “a very precise hand,” Paula recalls.
“The panther lives in our very maximalist home library now and has really made the room more interesting and unique,” she says. “He’s definitely the focal point of the room now, and his yellow eyes really draw you in.”
Paula’s best advice is to act fast when you see something one-of-a-kind while secondhand shopping. “You won’t always find something when you’re looking for it, but if you search often, you’ll definitely come across treasure,” she says, adding that her panther coffee table is a definite “conversation starter.”
For more cat-themed conversation starters in homes, check out the cheetah in this living room and this pink panther coffee table.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.