Dining Table

I've avoided doing this post for a while. You know when you do something and you like it, but you don't LOVE it? I have always loved how the top of this table turned out...the pedestal on the other hand was the first issue to tackle. But to truly start at the beginning you have to see what I started with.

I never realized how few pictures I had of my dining table before until I started looking for one to show you. This was the old butcher block table painted high gloss black and set for Thanksgiving dinner...a long time ago according to how small my son looks in the background. The living room is also a clue as to the date: no color on the walls, red curtains, and walking into the back of the sofa. Oh the mistakes I made on my way to finding my style.

A while back I did this post about making a coffee table out of this dining table because my father was cleaning things out and I wanted this table

I loved the table to bits, but the finish was disgusting and it was about 2 inches too short to sit at comfortably.  I also had the problem of finding chairs. The somewhat modern ladder back chairs in high gloss black just weren't doing it for me at this table. My husband wasn't going to buy new chairs though so that meant finding old chairs - sorry...vintage chairs ;) That will be a completely different post though because I'm still working on those.

I knew what I wanted to do to this table, I just had to find the time to do it! So I finally got started by striping the top.

This took 3 times to get down to the wood and then I had to sand it. I love that this table has a large crack in it, I love that my grandfather worked on this table and that it was in their house, I love that my father used it as an extra desk for a while, I am just totally emotionally attached to this table! Even more so now, after giving it a new life in my home.

Next came the staining

With that all finished up the pedestal was next. At first I painted it too white and used the wrong color glaze for it. It was nice but not great. So then I repainted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and used clear and dark wax. Now I LOVE this table! It's exactly what I had in mind. I could not be more pleased!!!

The chairs were purchased over a few months and I love each chair. I thought I had an idea of how I wanted them and so I dove right in. My children changed my minds when they wrecked the upholstery so quickly. All the different colors on the chairs wont make sense with a different upholstery so they are being changed right now. Hopefully I will soon have the chairs complete and get them posted. For now though, the table is PERFECT and I'm so happy I have it in my home.