Ooh La La Marble Top Coffee Table

When I first purchased our coffee table, I knew I would be doing something to it.  The original off-the-shelf version was just that; off-the-shelf typical.  You may remember spotting it in our sofa story post last month.

I purchased the table for $50 from IKEA, and defaulted to this table after endless searches left me with little that fit our apartment size sectional and budget.  My initial thought was to spray paint the frame gold and call it a day, but after spotting a few marble topped tables, I thought that look would be a bit more glam and sophisticated.

I made the decision to do the marble top a few months ago after spotting a few of my favorite people using some marble contact paper to transform surfaces in their home {see Courtney's counter here, Kirsten's side table here and Style Me Pretty's end table here}.  But when I looked at the price tag for the marble contact paper, I nearly passed out.  $65 per roll.

We all know I love contact paper, and I have never in my life seen it cost so much.  What was SO amazing about this one roll?  I sat and pondered the decision for months.

Then, after looking and looking and looking some more, I decided to order an inexpensive option instead.  When it arrived at my door, it was not at all glam, chic or sophisticated.  It had grey, cream and beige running through and there was very little marbling detail present.  Realizing that the cost of the contact paper plus the cost of the coffee table would still bring me in far under typical marble topped tables {which often range from $300-$800}, I finally took the plunge and ordered the expensive paper.

The paper on the right is the costly option compared to the much less expensive version on the left.  I noticed right away the color was more brilliant white, there was nice veining and the roll was much more substantial.  Also, the finish was like no other contact paper I have ever touched before; it was glossy and thick.  I was happy with my choice.

I asked my hubby to assist in the installing of the paper since this wasn't just going to be hidden in a drawer or at the bottom of a cupboard.  I wanted to be sure there were no bubbles or visible seams.  

The only tools we used were scissors to cut the length of the paper and a squeegee for smoothing out bubbles.  We also used a small blade to slice along the edge of the table after the paper was attached.

The squeegee was our best friend throughout this process, and it really was a two person job.  It was really nice having two sets of eyes to watch for bubbles and someone to hold the glass while the other used the squeegee to smooth everything out.

For the few extra bubbles that we were not able to remove with the squeegee, we used a very small pin to poke an itty bitty hole on one edge of the bubble and smoothed things out with our fingertip.  Worked like a charm and the bubbles just seemed to vanish.

It is so, so pretty and completely changed the feeling in the whole space!

What I love most is that it hides all of the fingerprints and puppy nose prints that would frequent the glass top.

We could have sprayed the frame gold, but I like the way the black pops off of the rug and sofa. 

Now I kind of want to cover everything in this beautiful marble contact paper.  And I have enough left for a few more places I have in mind, so I will be sure to get my money's worth.  Enter evil laugh here.

In the end I am glad I waited things out, thought through the options and decided to splurge.  I really love the change it made to our living room and how it took a cheapy IKEA table to a whole new level.  Of course, I have since spotted a less expensive option here, although, I can't personally speak to how realistic the marbling is in person.

I have to say, playing the High/Low game is pretty fun.  Anyone else been working on any good IKEA hacks lately?