This spoils the suspense a bit, but I had to lead with the after photo — it shows the finished look best.
This is a very affordable, surprisingly simple thrift-store table makeover. Don’t let it intimidate you — it’s doable.
And yes, if you tell me you can’t do it, I’ll still believe you can.
Do you remember the $25 thrift-store Moroccan table I brought home almost two years ago?
After a good cleaning the top still had some cracked and water-stained areas. At first I didn’t want to rush into major repairs like puttying, sanding, priming, and refinishing, so I just used the table as-is for a while. John and I liked the wood tone and the interlocking shapes, so we left it alone.
Nearly two years later, the top had seen better days. Mostly that was thanks to Clara, who discovered she could pull the little wood shapes out like a puzzle.
Some sections loosened more than we expected and a few pieces went missing.
As the table declined, the urge to paint it grew. We saw inspiring examples of painted Moroccan tables and thought about painting ours, but since the thrift find already had a nice wood tone we decided to try refinishing first. If refinishing failed, painting would remain an option. Step one was sanding and filling the cracked and uneven areas with wood filler.
We used the same type and color of wood putty that worked on our dark-stained kitchen cabinets, hoping we could darken the patched areas with extra stain. After the putty cured and we sanded, it was time to stain.
We wanted the original rich reddish-brown tone, so we used Minwax Red Mahogany. After two coats applied with a brush and wiped off, the puttied areas still stood out more than we’d hoped — they wouldn’t take the stain the same way the surrounding wood did.
When a project stalls I usually step away and work on something else for a bit. While returning from Home Depot with other supplies, I remembered a stain marker we have for touch-ups. I tried it on the puttied spots, scribbled it on, and gently wiped to blend.
It actually helped a lot. The putty wasn’t completely invisible, but the contrast was reduced and the top looked much improved.
Still, I wanted to further distract from the patched spots. Instead of painting most of the table, I decided to add decorative inlay-inspired detailing in a few areas. That would draw the eye away, preserve the wood tone, and give the table interesting character.
It felt a bit bold, but we didn’t have much to lose. I considered stencils, stamps, and freehand, then chose a hybrid: freehand leafy vines connecting star-like shapes made from a cardboard template.
I used an oil-based Sharpie paint pen for control — oil-based is better on stained surfaces to avoid bleed-through. I worked with windows open and wore a respirator for safety.
To create the stencil, I printed several seven-point star shapes on cardstock, chose the size I liked, traced it onto cardboard, and cut it out. I picked seven points because I’d seen Moroccan designs with five through eight points and seven is our favorite.
I traced the template onto the table, filled the stars in with the paint pen (it took a few coats for solid coverage), and freehanded connecting wavy lines. Adding alternating small leaves turned those lines into vines.
I placed one star in the center of the top and one near each corner, then connected them with the vines. The stenciled stars were the fiddliest part; the vines came quickly. If you haven’t used a paint pen, practice on paper first — wavy lines and leaves are easy to master.
After adding more vines to the edges and touching up the stars to make them solid, the white detailing created enough contrast that the puttied spots virtually disappeared. A small diversion like this can do wonders for a patched thrift-store piece.
For the table legs I laid the table on its side and worked one face at a time, adding stars and connecting vines on each side. The paint pen needed an extra coat on the stars but the vines were fine in one pass. I may do one more star pass before sealing everything with a non-toxic topcoat like Safecoat Acrylacq.
The whole refinishing process took a few hours, and the inlay-inspired detailing added a couple more. It wasn’t as quick as painting the table solid, but it was fun, kept the wood tone visible, and gave the piece authentic Moroccan flair.
Considering genuine mother-of-pearl inlay tables can sell for over $1,000, this $25 thrift-store find with a little paint is a great budget-friendly option. We used supplies we already had, but even buying putty, stain, a stain pen, and a paint pen would run only around $25.
It’s a bold look, not for everyone, but easy to change later — you can sand and re-stain or paint it solid if you tire of the design. Right now it fits nicely in the nursery among other wood elements, though we may move it later.
Have you tackled a furniture makeover recently? Ever used a stain pen on wood putty or a Sharpie paint pen for detailing? When a project stalls, do you walk away for a while, search for ideas, or ask someone else for input?