Table Makeover

We bought this table and chairs while we were in graduate school in Boulder, CO.  I was pregnant with Evan—that’s how long ago it was.  A family in our apartment complex was moving to Europe and selling all of their furniture.  We needed to replace the card table we’d been using since our wedding.  Sold.

We’ve gathered around this table for hundreds and hundreds of meals, eaten in five different houses over the past 15 years.  It still fit all of us, but I was tired of it.  It was the same color as the floor.  The chairs were getting a bit wobbly.  So I started looking at the local classified ads online.  For weeks and weeks.  Until I found this.  A used Pottery Barn table with 2 leaves and no chairs.  Sturdy.  Nice lines.  Great legs.  (no, I’m not talking about myself.  Except maybe the sturdy part.)  $75.  Sold.  (wish I had a better before picture—this is the underside and the legs are to the right)

I needed chairs.  I found these.  They came with a table.  The set was blue.  Ugh.  But I like ladderback chairs.  $50.  Sold.

I paid Grant to help me sand the table top to the bare wood.  Jillian helped.  (the table is sitting on top of a dresser that I’ll refinish as soon as the weather gets warmer.)

Looks beautiful, right?  Nice job, Grant.  (Not pictured are the two leaves.)

I lightly sanded the legs and all of the chairs, and then carefully wiped away all of the dust.  That took longer than the table top, even though I wasn’t taking them down to the bare wood.

I painted the legs and the chairs a creamy white (oil-based enamel).  I distressed the edges, and then applied a walnut glaze to give them an antiqued look.

I stained the table top and skirt a dark walnut color.  I wish I’d applied another coat of stain for a more even color, but I didn’t think of that until after I’d applied a several light coats of polyurethane.

And then, while I was at it, I did the same to the extra table—the one with blue legs.  (I’m planning to sell it because I don’t need it—it’s still sitting in the garage.)

I started this project in August.  I worked on it a little almost every day—just an hour here and there.  In October I listed my old table and chairs on KSL.  Sold.  $200.  The kitchen was empty.  I was motivated to finish.  I ordered fabric for the chairs online, and then recovered the seats.  And finally, we moved the new table inside in November.  I love it.  Last week someone called me and said, “I heard you refinish furniture.  Could you do my bedroom set for me?”  “No,” I said.  The end.