Table transformation

Many of you already know about our house purge which took place back in November. During that long dreaded weekend we got rid of about 5 car loads of furniture and stuff from our garage, sun room (post here), and the front half of our family room. We had a sort of 'floating' home office area in the front portion of our family room which included a square desk and large computer monitor. Not only did the desk become a dumping ground for bills and business paperwork, the printers below and rolling desk chair were just plain ugly and the large monitor blocked our view out of the front windows. We moved the large desk out and the computer and office stuff upstairs, where it's out of site but still accessible.

This newly open space was perfect for our Christmas tree over the holidays.

You've heard me talk about living with the empty space these past few weeks and my lack of motivation to do anything about it. If you read my post here, then you know that I had a rebound of creative energy this past weekend and lots of time on my hands. The sun room is still empty, but the front portion of our family room is just about complete.

Over the weekend it went from this:

to this:

Before asking someone to haul this beat up old table away, I figured it would be worth some time giving the old lady a face lift in my workshop out back. ;) I wanted to get that thick paint look, similar to the finish on my faux Mora clock, Monique. I searched high and low for information on painting furniture using plaster mixed in but couldn't find anything. I went to my local hardware store and asked the paint expert about it and he told me to use this joint compound (pictured above and similar to plaster but apparently easier to work with) mixed with paint to achieve the look I was after.
I sprayed the table with Kilz primer to start.

Once the coat of primer was dry I began mixing some white, cream, and dark dray 'oops' paint (I already had on hand) together, while adding in the joint compound.
The joint compound is thick and has the consistency of Greek yogurt. It was actually really fun to work with! It was quick and easy to spread and I played around with different textures (combed effect versus rag rolled versus blotted). It took a full 24 hours to dry and by that time I was too anxious to add a second coat so I sanded in spots and moved her into the family room.
I had this leftover tan and white striped linen fabric and a tension rod and voila, it's the perfect length (needs ironing, sorry!). Hubby doesn't love the fabric but I like the idea of extra {hidden}storage underneath. I would consider no fabric but with two small benches underneath for extra seating and to use the table as a work area occasionally.
The view facing into the dining room, just past the front entrance. I recently removed all of the little lamp shades on the dining room light fixture and put drip sleeves on instead. It updated the fixture a bit and the sleeves will come with me whenever we move on. Turning and facing the back of the family room, into the sun room. You can just make out the humidor and small wine rack in the sun room, awaiting days of chatting adults sipping wine and conversing {or more likely me sipping wine alone and reading a book while escaping reality and more DIY projects- ha!}
The landing over/into the kitchen or upstairs bedrooms:

The whole room as seen from the landing. This fab designer friend made a few quick changes here a few months ago including throwing the drop cloth fabric over the leather chair {LOVE it there and so does Max}, and moving Monique to hide the cords next to the mantel.
Monique's home is just temporary until we find a cord covering solution.
The little foot stool belonged to my grandparents. She was a recipient of the Morning T face lift treatment this weekend as well.

My how far we've come. Not so long ago this was my family room decor, chocolate with touches of gold. You can read the post about the transition to neutrals and white here.
Aside from the leather couch and chair, most of these pieces are long gone!
Here's a view of the desk from a few years back. Oh the clutter on the desk, around the desk, inside the book cases, ugh. I did purge and edit the bookcases back in November but they're a constant project.

THEN:
NOW:

**UPDATE- I slapped another coat of the paint/compound mixture onto the table yesterday evening to add a bit more depth. Here's a close up of the texture.

Now I need your help. Do you like the table better with the skirt/fabric?

Or do you like it better without?

I'm still contemplating this Italian script on the table. If only I had better handwriting....
Image via MyNottingHill blog.

OK, thoughts anyone? Should I ditch the skirt altogether or change to a solid tan linen? Ditch the paint and attempt the Italian script? Is the table too blue? I was going for a light gray but it looks blue in these photos. Please share any ideas with me, I'd love to hear what you think.

Ciao~
T