Go Forth and Craft (The Bucket List)

This page shows crafts that I'd like to work on in the future, a.k.a. My Crafting Bucket List (get ready for this list to be VERY LONG) :)

1.  I refinished a used Pottery Barn dining room table over the summer.  While I love how it turned out, I'm thinking of painting the top of it because (a) there is a lot of wood going on in our dining room (table, chairs, hutch, and hardwood floors) and (b) the top of the table has a lot of swirly lines going on because I used an electric sander (my faux pas).  

Here are some BEFORE and AFTER pics:

As you can see, the top of the table had a lot of knicks and scratches.

I sanded the finished off the top and sides to the bare wood.  It's a really lovely knotty wood :)

First coat of stain.

Next coat of stain.

Final coat of stain.

You can kinda see the swirly lines in this pic.

Final product???

I'm strongly considering painting just the top of the table with something called chalk paint.  I discovered chalk paint when doing a little online research about refinishing furniture.  The one major selling point for me is the fact that chalk paint contains absolutely no toxic fumes.  So, you can paint inside your house without worrying about any danger to yourself or your family :)  The paint comes in a variety of colors and is perfect for giving your furniture a distressed or antique look.  It is also supposed to cover really well which means you don't have to apply coat after coat.  And it dries fast!  

I haven't decided on a color yet but I'm probably going to go with a soft vintage-looking blue or green to go with the country theme of the dining room.

What do you think???  Should I paint just the top of the table or the whole sha-bang?  What color?  I'd love your input!

2.  I also want to paint this little table that I got off of a nice lady on Facebook.  The wood is just too dark and doesn't go with the rest of the house.  I love it, though, and want to give it a more retro look.

It sits in a cozy corner by our staircase and holds a really cool hurricane lamp and our phone.  The drawer is my daughter's domain (as is every drawer in the downstairs) and at any given time is filled with hair bands, play jewelry, pennies, lip balm, tiny plastic things that go with some toy somewhere, and random pieces of paper.

Any thoughts on color choice???  I think I'd like to replace the knob on the drawer, too.