Dear Jenny: What would you do with this coffee table?

One of my old clients, Sheila, emailed me with a photo of this coffee table she had purchased off Craigslist for her mom's home a while back. I saw it in person the last time I was visiting. The tortoise shell bamboo is really cool, but the glass panes are really bad (a completely unfortunate bird scene).

Sheila wanted advice about what to do to replace the bird scenes. I think just regular old mirror would be bright and pretty. Antiqued mirror or leafed glass would be nice also.

Another option is painting new glass panes a pretty color. Recently I saw this really (REALLY) expensive but incredibly beautiful credenza at John Rosselli at the D&D. It's a brass frame with reverse painted glass panes (the aqua parts) by Lona Design.

I love the effect of the reverse painted glass! It's glossy and watery and has great depth. These are the color samples Lona Design offers. And you can see better here how pretty the aqua color is (to the right of the card) on the credenza. Wouldn't this color be amazing paired with the tortoise shell bamboo frame on Sheila's table?

To achieve this look with Sheila's coffee table, I would get glass cut to size (Lowe's does this for super cheap!) and then use spray paint, or regular latex paint and a foam roller, to apply color to the underside. I would add glaze for a more transparent look.

The technique would work on paned cabinet doors, glass shelving and any glass topped tables. Which, lucky for us, Craigslist and thrift stores are absolutely chock full of!