How to Transform a Wooden Folding Card Table from Blah to Fabulous

My wooden folding card table was given to me when my mom passed away over 10 years ago. The table was very nice for a small home like mine. It allowed me to use it for a foyer catch-all table where I would keep my charging station (affiliate). But, over the years, I found that it was getting a little shabby. The back legs were separating from the base. The veneer was chipping off the top, and the back legs were never the right height to keep the table level when closed or open. This folding card table makeover post discusses how I helped address the issues the folding card table had for many years.

Jump to:

• Key Takeaways
• Repairing the legs
• Now it is time to paint.
• Add dark wax to chalk paint.
• Tips for chalk painting this folding card table.
• How to level the table?
• Reveal
• Update 2026: The table was transformed again.
• REVEAL 2026

Repairing the legs

First, I started out with repairing the legs. They needed to be pushed back into the base. But there was no way for me to ensure they would stay over time. Before hammering the wooden tenon joint back into the base, I applied glue around the joint, then hammered it in. To keep it in place till it dried, I used painters tape (affiliate) around the leg to try to keep it still. 

Because of all the angles on the base and legs, it was quite hard to keep it tight. So, to reinforce it even more, after I painted the base, I added jute webbing cut in half or you can use earthquake straps (affiliate) with 1-inch long screws with washers attached to keep the fabric from fraying at the hole. See below for a visual.

Now it is time to paint.

Then, I painted the entire table with Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines(R) Chalk Style Color Yarn by Kilz. I started from the bottom and painted everything two times. Let it dry for a day. Then, I turned it over and painted the inside of the table twice. After that, I let it dry for a day or so.

Add dark wax to chalk paint.

Now it was time to add the dark-aged look. I used Dark Wax by Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines (R). With a rag, I applied this wax and wiped it off. It worked wonderfully. Do you agree?

Here's a close-up of the side of the table after I applied the dark wax with a rag.

Tips for chalk painting this folding card table.

1. Be patient. It takes as long as it takes.
2. Assess what needs to be done before you start painting. It's just easier that way.
3. Know when to repair and when to leave it. I found that some areas would take too much time and money to fix so, I picked the ones that wouldn't take the longest.

How to level the table?

To level the table, I added ½-inch feet to the back legs. I didn't remove the other feet because the wooden leg was too delicate. As you can see, the wooden leg has a crack in it.

Here's another angle of the table leg. It may look a little off from the picture above, but it is actually level now. It was the easiest and quickest way to level this table.

Reveal

Here is the finished wooden folding table. What do you think? I love it. I am especially happy that it is level now. Since my mom purchased it in the nineties, it was not level. What a quick and easy fix to level it! Yay! Feel free to visit my other chalk paint furniture projects.

Update 2026: The table was transformed again.

We recently built a small home in the Southwest of the U.S.A. and needed furniture (affiliate) to fill it. It would be a place for my daughter to live while in medical school and we could come and visit ever few months to escape the cold. It was a process, but we were able to move several of our precious pieces of furniture (affiliate) to our second home. And my daughter decided to update some of the furniture (affiliate) because she preferred the dark wood color.

This piece was a little damaged when I inherited it from my mom, so it was not feasible to go and remove the chalk paint. She repainted it a beautiful green color and drew a moon on it when it was open. Check it out folding card table makeover below and see how artistic my daughter is, way more than I am. lol

REVEAL 2026

And this is the final folding table layout. She used different acrylic colors to make the moon. It is so pretty, right? Great for a new small home.