Octagon

I bought this cool octagon coffee table at ReStore for $20. The top was very scratched up, but I thought it had a lot of potential.    

I sanded down the top of it, which took a while.

And the finish was very thick, so I went through a lot of sandpaper.

I finally finished the sanding, which allowed the beautiful grain of the wood

to really show through.  Then I applied some clear polyurethane. 

Here it is, with the finished top.  I have plans to paint the bottom part of the table, but I haven't decided what color.  Teal?  Lime green?  I've also thought about gold leafing it, so you can really see the detailing around the cut outs.  It has a cool Moroccan vibe, which works with my basement decor.