Refinished Drexel Heritage Square End Table

Drexel Heritage makes excellent quality furniture. Well-made. Heavy-duty. Solid wood. If you come across one in your travels it’s a good idea to grab it, even if it means refinishing it to fit with the colors in your home. See how I refinished this Drexel Heritage square end table from a brown stain to a soft neutral tan to blend well with traditional decor.

This week’s makeover was an end table from my sister-in-law. She and my brother were making space for her parents to move in to their home and this oversized end table was taking up a bit too much space.

Her parents wanted to bring much of their own furniture with them to make the transition more comfortable. After all, moving into any new space is a huge change and having some familiar pieces makes the new space more comfortable.

The table started off with a brown stain and a heavy coat of shellac. I forgot to grab a “before” photo for you, but the photo above shows the table after I sanded down the top completely and had just started to lightly sanded the base.

I really didn’t have a plan with this project. I think I had just refinished THIS antique white cabinet with dark marble top and took some inspiration from there. That cabinet was traditional in style like this square end table.

I put a coat of dark walnut stain on the top and painted the base with a China White enamel. Then the table sat. And sat. And sat for a few months. The color was ok but not quite right. The top showed a lot of wood grain and was more rustic than I wanted.

Then one day I realized the warm white color was too stark and I wanted a dark stain that was a little more modern to fit today’s home color schemes.

The top got two coats of THIS dark stain. It’s called Kona. It’s the same color I used on the dresser in my master bedroom and this brand of stain offers much more coverage than others. The color is also a very close match to the dark stained furniture we have from West Elm. Dark meets modern.

The top was protected with a bit of THIS wipe-on polyurethane. I really like using the wipe-on poly on traditional furniture because it gives a hand-rubbed, older-world look than a brush-on poly that’s thicker and more glossy.

The final step for the top, which I haven’t yet done, will be a coat of protective wax. The wax will smooth out any roughness and make this tabletop as smooth as butter. I’ve used Annie Sloan clear wax in the past, but cannot find it online any longer, so I plan to try THIS finishing wax. You can see where I used wax over poly in THIS post.

Then to blend the top with the base a bit more, I mixed up some enamel paint to a soft tan. Or light khaki, whichever you prefer.

Later when I pulled out the Sherwin Williams color deck, it color-matched to the color Softer Tan. At first I thought it would match Agreeable Gray. It’s along the same depth of color, but Softer Tan has more yellow to it, allowing it to blend really well with dark stains, lighter natural woods, and warm home decor.

[Pardon the yellow rug. A neutral one is on my list of items to purchase.]

I considered painting the original wood knobs and re-using them on this end table. Then I found these new oil-rubbed bronze knobs in my stash. And they fit perfectly – both in scale & style.

Unlike most oil-rubbed knobs that have a copper tone showing through, THESE have a slight warm gold tone.

This end table is super functional. There are two drawers to keep TV remotes safe and at-hand and two large shelves to hold books, magazines, a folded blanket, or your family’s favorite board games.

If you don’t prefer the spindles on the left side, just turn the table to hide them against the couch, and display the plain side of the table.

What a great table for a traditional home that’s decorated in warm colors! And it’s now available in Entri Ways’ online shop HERE.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products I use myself.