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Marble topped pedestal table - what color for base?

13 years ago

Today I saw this table at the ReStore and swooned. I bought it thinking I could use it as a small coffee table in my soon-to-be living room.

I think it looks silly as a coffee table, it's too tall. But then I tried it as a side table and the heavens opened and angels sang Glory! Glory!

Here is a picture of it:


The room is being converted from storage zone back into a LR so it looks kind of scrappy right now. This room used to hold all the upstairs furniture :)

That brick hearth is 26" front to back, and it leaves this weird no-mans-land in the corner. A big, beefy table like this stakes a claim and says, "this is MY corner, I rule this part of the universe!"

But today that table is sporting red undercoat with gold leaf on top. Not so good. I need to repaint the base, but am not sure what color to use.

White? I don't want the room to look cottagey, I am shooting for a slightly masculine library-esque vibe without being too dark and stodgy.

Gray? What kind of undertone? I tend to pick grays with blue undertones, maybe a more charcoal type of color?

Black? That would keep the fireplace from being the only big black thing in the room ... It's a woodstove insert and it is here to stay.

Chalkboard paint black? Is this too pass� already?

Next to this will be a big leather couch in a color that is called Porcini. It is a mushroomy brown - not a warm or caramel toned brown, but a deeper brown with a hint of gray in it.

I love this table, it is going to make use of that corner well and the marble is lovely. I don't love the gold leaf but when I saw it for $55 I knew I'd regret NOT buying it (and its for a good cause, yada yada yada).

I'm just stumped on what color the base should be. Thank you in advance for your help!

Comments (12)

  • 13 years ago

    I already weighed in on your other post - I like the gold leaf very much, for all the reasons I went on about...

    I think you should do everything else first, and then decide if you really want to change it.

  • 13 years ago

    Since you've brought some red in with the lamp, how about a subtle dark burnt red?

  • 13 years ago

    I always associate these tables with gold leaf(gold powdered paint really, not leaf), so its hard to picture it with flat paint on it.

    How about spraying it metallic bronze to darken it while keeping the same vibe?

    What about tortoiseshelling over the gold (Some techniques call for a metallic gold undercoat anyway?) I have a mid-century Henredon table treated in this fashion.

    These two finishes would respect its origins but change it.

    Of course I like it as is, but it's not a piece that would be devalued by altering it either.

  • 13 years ago

    I agree with both bronwynsmom and palimpsest. Wait til everything else is in place first. Then, if you do decide to paint, metallic bronze (not ORB) or tortoiseshell would be perfect.

  • 13 years ago

    What they said. I like it as it is, would wait to see it as the room comes together, and if you still feel it needs change, think about just darkening it or toning it down as Palimpsest suggested.

  • 13 years ago

    I didnt respond to your other thread as yet .. but I love the tortoise shell idea. I would absolutely wait and let the room develop before changing it though.

    What a great find!

  • 13 years ago

    Waiting is a good idea for a couple reasons:

    1) it will help keep me from making a mistake and thinking, "Gee, it would have been better in gold..."
    2) it is as cold as a witch's teat and I don't want to have paint fumes in the house.

    Thanks!

  • 13 years ago

    My grandfather had one like that that was kind of a mixture of a gold and silver color, but it had an acanthus detail on the pedestal, and the top was removable so that you could carry it around as a serving tray. I repainted it and eventually threw it out a couple of years ago because it was no longer really salvageable. My vote is to keep it gold for now because you may like it later. It would also look good if it were ebonized with gold trim on the detailed areas (I had my grandfather's Baker end tables redone several years ago and the guy redid the ebonized part and gold leaf, and they came out great).

  • 13 years ago

    You noted a red undercoat. What I remember seeing when I've seen that finish is that it was rather cheap looking. You just don't like it when you say 'not good," it doesn't have a cheap quality about it? I'm thinking if you like the gold color when the room is done, it might look better if you redo a gold leaf on it yourself. It, honestly, looks kind of spray painted from here.

  • 13 years ago

    Real gold leaf is traditionally applied over a red ground.
    Likewise, silver is laid over blue.
    So that's why the red undercoat. Snookums is certainly right that it can look cheap if it's done badly, but when it's real, it's lovely.

  • 13 years ago

    I guess I've usually seen it over a dark ground (antiqued type finish) or plain. The red I've seen was not quality furniture ... but I guess that's where they got the idea from.

    This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 13:49

  • 13 years ago

    It looks flaky right now, the gold isn't sticking too well to the red in some places.

    I did some online searching to see if pewter leaf exists and it does not, but aluminum leaf can be treated with either a brown glaze or wax to approximate the effect (aluminum is a cheaper substitute for real silver leaf).

    I'm still going to wait and see how everything looks when it's all in the room before I change it. But I pet the marble now and then to let it know that it is loved.