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You are here: Home / Furniture Flips / Trash to treasure: Replace a Glass Tabletop

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Trash to treasure: Replace a Glass Tabletop

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This vintage bamboo end table has been totally transformed.  Not only did it get a fresh coat of paint; I also replaced the broken glass tabletop with a fresh new wood top.

This vintage bamboo end table has been totally transformed.  Not only did it get a fresh coat of paint; I was also able to replace the broken glass table top with a fresh new wood top with major style.

I absolutely adore how this end table turned out, but as usual, no transformation is complete without some sad tale of woe. 

This table had a very scuffed-up wood finish and it originally had a nice thick piece of beveled glass instead of a wooden tabletop. 

I forgot to take a before picture before getting to work, but it looked very similar to this table.

table before paint

I bought this table at the Goodwill, plopped it in the back of my SUV, and headed home.  On my way home, another car abruptly cut me off and I had to slam on my brakes. 

I avoided hitting the other car but the sudden stop caused my end table to flip over, sending the glass shattering all over me and the car. 

I only had one very tiny cut but I was furious that my glass had been broken.  Now my table had a gaping hole in the top.

Well, the table sat in the basement for a while.  At first, I was planning to simply replace the glass tabletop with new glass, but I didn’t want to just put a thin, cheap piece of glass on the table. 

I also didn’t want to spend a ton of money.  Finally, inspiration struck.

The hubs cut a nice piece of birch plywood to fit the hole on top of the table.  I stained it with Minwax Jacobean stain and headed over to the Graphics Fairy to find the perfect graphic. 

I think sheet music is absolutely beautiful so I chose a scrap of old sheet music as my graphic.

old sheet music for tabletop

It was the perfect shape for my little tabletop. I used this super simple pencil transfer method to transfer the design to my stained plywood. Then I traced over the design using a basic Sharpie. Seriously, it was that easy!

close up of sheet music on new tabletop

I painted the body of the table white which made a beautiful ‘frame’ for the wooden top.  (You can see all of my favorite paints right here.)

vintage bamboo end table makeover with wood top and sheet music.
finished bamboo table makeover with wood top, sheet music and white paint.

I love the finished product so much.  It is way more awesome than it would have been with just a fresh paint job and its old glass top.  (But I’m still not happy with that guy that cut me off!)

carrie signature in blue
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47 Comments

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Comments

  1. Lauren says

    August 25, 2011 at 8:25 am

    I’m so sorry about your accident, but glad you weren’t too badly hurt. I must say, though, that this table looks awesome with the wood top and sheet music graphic. I am a music lover so of course my eye is drawn to this; great work!

    Reply
  2. Gloria Fox @ Potentially Beautiful says

    August 25, 2011 at 9:25 am

    That looks amazing! Broken glass was a bit of a blessing for this table although I’m sorry about all the broken glass in the car and the stupid driver. :-)

    I stopped by your booth last week. Looks great and you have an awesome spot right there in the front of the store.

    Reply
  3. Just Jaime says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:35 am

    Very pretty! Love the idea of using music like that!

    Reply
  4. Jake says

    August 25, 2011 at 11:41 am

    What a wonderful idea! I’m looking forward to how-to on the process. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Jody says

    August 25, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    What a great idea of plugging the wood in where the glass once was. I have two coffee tables with similar glass tops and I’ve been trying to come up with something grand to do instead of the glass. I love the sheet music idea. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Shelley says

    August 25, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    Oh my goodness… I’m so glad to hear you’re ok!!! I think the best part of this table is the new top. Soooo cool! It definitely makes it a stand out :D

    Shelley
    http://www.westermanfam.blogspot.com

    Reply
  7. [email protected] says

    August 25, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    I’m glad you weren’t hurt badly! I think your table turned out beautifully! I love the music graphic. Thanks for linking back to me!

    Reply
  8. Terry says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:09 pm

    Glad you weren’t hurt, but a bad beginning for me usually brings a great ending and you table is no different. Beautiful.

    Reply
  9. Jake says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    I know I already commented, but I just saw it posted on MMS’s furniture link party. So, I figured I’d say it again; nice.

    Reply
  10. Cynthia says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:18 pm

    This is gorgeous!!! The music looks great!!!!!

    Reply
  11. Jenny says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    I think this was destiny! A great way to challenge your creativity, right? I know I would have been frustrated too, but it turned out beautifully!

    Reply
  12. Kelly says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:30 pm

    Love this table! The sheet music graphic looks just perfect! Thank you so much for sharing!

    [email protected] East Barn

    Reply
  13. Shabby Friends says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    I’ve been thinking about how to use some old sheet music. Should I use the original or make scans?

    Reply
  14. Carrie @ lovely etc. says

    August 26, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    Shabbyfriends, I guess it depends on whether you want to preserve and keep the originals or not. If so, you could use scans. For me, the color and texture that the old paper adds is one of the best parts so I would probably just use the originals.

    Reply
  15. Tammy says

    August 26, 2011 at 6:02 pm

    This is truly lovely! I love the sheet music idea. You did a great job. I am your newest follower. Hope you can visit me sometime soon!

    Reply
  16. Shona says

    August 26, 2011 at 8:58 pm

    This is beautiful! I can’t wait to hear how you transferred it!

    Reply
  17. Julie says

    August 26, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    Truly a striking piece. Would look great in MY house! I’m interested to know your transfer method as well.

    Reply
  18. Kathryn Ferguson Griffin says

    August 26, 2011 at 10:54 pm

    Glad you weren’t hurt! Fantastic job on making her pretty! Found you via Simple Home Life. Pop on over for a visit when you get a moment. Tootles, Kathryn
    http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-do-you-see.html

    Reply
  19. ivenad says

    August 26, 2011 at 11:03 pm

    I just want you to know i have spent 14 hours looking for a table at thrift stores, habitat, garage sales and consignment shops that I can do this to. I LOVE IT! I did almost get sucked into paying $20 for a similar chair just to do what you did. Total copycat. or wannabe copycat anyway.:)

    Reply
  20. May says

    August 26, 2011 at 11:41 pm

    Serendipity I say. This is so much more special than the glass would have been.

    Reply
  21. Belinda says

    August 27, 2011 at 6:55 am

    I have a table just like that. The glass broke many years ago & was too expensive to replace. Thanks to you, I now am inspired to do something similar. Thanks!

    Reply
  22. Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says

    August 27, 2011 at 8:42 am

    that looks beautiful! i love the graphics and the contrast of dark and white!

    Reply
  23. Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says

    August 27, 2011 at 8:42 am

    that looks beautiful! i love the graphics and the contrast of dark and white!

    Reply
  24. Jenny says

    August 27, 2011 at 11:21 pm

    It looks great. How scary about the glass breaking all over you. I’m glad you are ok. My Mom has a set of 2 of these that are the original oak color with the glass. I hate those tables, but they sure look good the way you remade them!

    Reply
  25. One Charming Thing says

    August 28, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    I love it!! Lemons into lemonade I tell ya! :)

    Reply
  26. Coley says

    August 28, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    glad you are ok! The table looks awesome!

    Coley @
    http://www.whatyoumakeit-coley.blogspot.com

    Reply
  27. [email protected] The Dream says

    August 30, 2011 at 12:37 pm

    this is seriously amazing!!!! WOW!!! I love the music touch!

    Reply
  28. Julia @ 551Eastdesign says

    August 30, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    This is really great. I have a similar table and I can’t wait for your tutorial:)

    Reply
  29. Cowgirl Crafter says

    August 30, 2011 at 2:19 pm

    I love how it turned out!

    Reply
  30. Tanya says

    August 30, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    That turned out beautiful!

    Reply
  31. [email protected] says

    August 30, 2011 at 5:52 pm

    Very nice. Love the contrast.

    Reply
  32. Chef in Training says

    August 30, 2011 at 11:38 pm

    this table looks incredible!

    I would love it if you would share this and/or any other projects you have been up to at Tuesday Talent Show at Chef In Training! Plus there is a fun giveaway too! Thanks so much and I hope to see you there!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com

    Reply
  33. **CREATIVE CARMELINA** says

    August 31, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    Just stunning! I love the contrast of the white crisp painted table…and then that gorgeous vintage music sheet decoupage! what a great creation!

    Now following you!
    Stop by sometime!

    ciao bella

    Creative Carmelina

    Reply
  34. niartist says

    August 31, 2011 at 9:13 pm

    Love how this turned out. BRAVO!

    I wanted to let you know that I’ve got a great giveaway that ends Friday. It’s for $100 to wallquotes.com, and trust me they’ve got something I know you’ll love!

    Stop by and enter ASAP. I’d love to see what you would do with their products! See you soon!

    Artie
    http://niagaranovice.blogspot.com

    Reply
  35. Anon. says

    September 15, 2011 at 10:02 am

    Gorgeous! Glad you made lemonade out of lemons re the glass breaking. If you don’t mind me asking, what colour/brand of stain did you use? I’ve got a harvest table I’d like to refinish and your stain colour looks like what I’m looking for!

    Reply
  36. Carrie @ lovely etc. says

    September 15, 2011 at 7:46 pm

    I used Minwax dark walnut stain. I’ve used it a few times since and really love the rich, dark color. Hope your table turns out great!

    Reply
  37. Miss Charming says

    December 3, 2011 at 8:26 pm

    Absolutely lovely! The music top looks wonderful. You did a great job.

    Reply
  38. A rootdigger says

    January 4, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    suppose you wanted to do sheet music on the glass, how would you proceed. And with the glass what were you going to do with the table, just paint for a great look too?

    Reply
  39. Carrie @ lovely etc. says

    January 4, 2012 at 9:07 pm

    Good questions. Yes, I was originally just going to keep the glass and paint the table. And I think that would have looked nice too – but the glass breaking definitely pushed me to be a bit more creative and I love the outcome. If you wanted to do sheet music onto the glass, you have a few options. You could decoupage actual pieces of sheet music to the glass using something like Mod-Podge. Or for a look similar to my table, I would probably draw the design on the underside of the glass. They make special glass markers though a regular Sharpie paint pen whould also work. Putting the design underneath will keep the paint from getting scratched off the glass – although you will have to draw the design backwards so that it will appear forwards from above.

    Reply
  40. [email protected] says

    January 6, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    I featured your gorgeous table (and you!) this week!

    http://daysofchalkandchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/01/features-from-last-weeks-party.html

    Thanks for linking up..and I hope to see you this week! : )

    Reply
  41. Bliss says

    March 16, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    Korrie might not know this, but stumbling on her chocolate table was my inspiration to start my blog. A table is still on my agenda, but it’s an intimidating project for me. Yours turned out great, I love the graphic you chose.

    ~Bliss~

    Reply
  42. Angela Serensko says

    April 27, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    Hi! Saw your table with the music sheet; the redone piece that had the broken glass. I want to do something but on a larger scale. My cocktail table has a large glass top that I want to change and this is the greatest idea! Can you tell me how you did it?

    Reply
    • Carrie says

      April 28, 2014 at 8:09 pm

      Thanks Angela! The table was pretty simple to do. I cut a piece of birch plywood to fit the space where the glass was and then transferred the design onto the plywood. Here is my transfer method: https://www.lovelyetc.com/2011/08/i-need-transfer/ Then I just went over the design with a black Sharpie and stained the plywood. Good luck with your table!

      Reply
  43. Kristi moseley says

    April 15, 2015 at 11:53 pm

    i have 2 end tables almost just like this one. I want to do something with the glass because it is all scratched up. Any other ideas other than the music? I am not very crafty! LOL… Also was the bottom wicker hard to paint? I was wondering if the paint puddled up in it? Did you use a brush on it? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Carrie says

      April 16, 2015 at 8:47 pm

      Kristi, Even if you didn’t do music, you could still do stained plywood or even painted wood. You could also possibly just wrap the glass with a pretty piece of fabric. If it fits snuggly, you might not even have to glue it to the glass. Or you could tint the glass with glass paint to hide the scratches. The wicker was a little bit of a pain to paint, but not too difficult. Just time consuming. And yes, I did use a brush to help get into all the grooves.

      Reply
  44. Linda at Mixed Kreations says

    February 28, 2019 at 6:28 pm

    I’m glad you didnt get seriously hurt from the broken glass. But I think it turned out so much prettier with the wood and music graphics then it would of been with the glass. Love the dark wood with the white!

    Reply
    • Carrie says

      March 19, 2019 at 11:26 am

      Thank you! It definitely wasn’t how I meant things to go but I think it turned out so much better once the glass was gone as well!

      Reply

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