Several weeks ago a friend texted me a photo saying, “You want this? It’s set out in the trash in my neighborhood.” Without hesitation, I responded, “YES!!!” I was just given an adorable, wobbly, drawer-less end table. An end table that was calling out for a little love and some chalk paint. Once I had the table in my possession, I observed I needed to make it a little more stable — the legs were very wobbly.

All I did to make the table sturdier was remove the legs, put wood glue on the legs and the table where the legs attached, clamped and reinstalled the hardware. I let that dry overnight and the next day was when the fun stuff began.

I consulted my brother, A.J., on what to do where there had once been a drawer. He offer to make me a little drawer from some scrap wood he already had. (I think he did this because he recently got new woodworking tools and wanted to use them.)

After sanding it really well with a palm sander, I bought Valspar spray paint with a chalk finish in a very light gray color (ETA: As of 9/4/26 it appears this product has been discontinued). I had never used it before and I wanted to see if I liked spray chalk paint as much as I liked regular spray paint. I wasn’t really happy with the color (see below). I wanted something that stood out, but not too much.

I decided to go with a darker gray. I found Rustoleum Chalked All-in-One Ultra Matte Charcoal Spray Paint. When I began spraying, I knew I was going to like it. It went on so smoothly and the color was exactly what I wanted.

I happened to have one leftover knob that was cream and gray that would look perfect on the drawer.

I decided to use a sealant on this end table instead of a wax for chalk paint. If it was going to be a decorative table? I wouldn’t mind using wax. But this table might actually be used and a clear spray finish would do the trick. I used Polycrylic spray (I already had this so I just
used that. There are other brands that I have also used before, like Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Spray Paint, Semi-Gloss Clear. I have very happy with both brands. I used a matte finish but you can use one that has a little sheen to it. It’s really a personal preference.