So, waaaay back, when we first moved, we made the journey with our original dining room table. One that fit great into our old dining room… a large square table (when the leaf is open), in a large square dining room.
But the new place is loooong and narrow. Like, really long. Which means we could fit a fantastic long table, but a new one was most certainly not in the budget.
Buying second hand was the answer, and the cheaper the better. Time to refinish a dining table!
Enter Kijiji! Loooove me some Kijiji. I found this monster 7 foot table (when the leaf is in) for $120 — It also came with 4 Windsor chairs which come in handy for big dinners (and are awaiting their own makeover).
Some good energy was attached to this table too… the family shared their memories of many years of family dinners around the table, and I was happy to take that home with me.
But… all that love meant it needed some work. The finish on the table top was pretty rough. And, the old oak yellowish stain was showing her age. Time to give her a modern facelift. The table top got sanded aaaaall the way down. Yep, I was living in the garage for a couple days. But the new Skil Sander, (a gift from last Christmas), sure came in handy with those curvy edges. Loving those fancy attachments!
The base got a quick hand sanding, to scuff up the shiny surface, to prep it to hold paint.
The perfect matte, soft white, completely propelled this “dated-and-too-country” finish into today! So clean, and I appreciate the curves so much more now.
The table top was lugged upstairs (thanks Steve!), so I could stain it indoors, and away from the dusty garage.
Already, so! much! better! The bare wood against the white base, already had me feeling really happy, and I was excited to get staining!
“Friday” the cat needed to supervise, as usual.
And on goes the stain… Every time I strip wood all the way down, and start applying stain, I can almost hear the wood saying, “thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so thirsty!!”
It really is as, “good as new”.
All damage completely removed, and the new supple wood ready for its new life… for years to come!
Here it is after two coats… looking pretty proud…
And after 3 stain coats, (in Jacobean), and 3 Varathane coats, she was ready to go…
This old table is looking better than ever! Young and fresh.
The best part? We can seat 10 for the big family dinners, and with our breakfast bar adjacent to it, everyone is together, with no need to set up extra plastic tables! A proper family table. Are we grown-ups, or what?!
The kiddo was pretty sick of eating at the breakfast bar, so it was extra cruel, waiting for the extra time waiting for the Varathane to cure. Let’s just say, she enjoyed her first meal, and has been choosing a new seat for each meal and snack, the last few days! Ha! She keeps me laughing.
Hi, I have this same table with the matching chairs. Do you think the white paint will hold up on captains chairs?
What stain did you use ?
Beautiful! What brand and type of white paint did you use?
Beautiful!!! I live the white base and Jacobean top. What type of stain did you use? Gel? And did you finish with a poly?
So great!!!
Thank you so much!!!
Love it! What is the color f the final coats – Jacobean?? Brand? Thank you!
Hey! Love the table! What would you think of a red bottom and light stain top? Do you think it would work?
Thinking of painting the base of my mission style dining table! Love how your table turned out!!
We live on the water, and trying to make things more “beachy”. Where did you find your dining room chairs?
Thanks, Jeanna! I love a beachy look! We found our chairs at JYSK. I’m not sure how many cities they are located in, but I do know they still carry them… but I’ve seen them all sorts of places in lots of different price points. Try searching for banana leaf chairs, and see if anything you like pops up. Best of luck!!
I bought these same chairs a week ago (Oct 2018) at SteinMart for $60 each! We have a similar table that we’re finishing in the same paint/stain finish! Thanks for showing me what to expect from the completed project!
Where did you get that cute table runner?
Thanks Dani, I bought it at Homesense (www.homesense.ca)
Thank you. I am just wondering if you had to prime first? Did you poly the white sections or was the paint an enamel?
Hi Sam, I sanded the base to give something the paint to adhere to, and I used Behr’s paint-and-primer in-one. No top coat. It’s been holding up great! Thanks!
Hi, could you tell me what the colour name/brand the white paint is? Thanks
Hi Sam — it’s Benjamin Moore “Soft Chamois” OC13. Thanks!
Hi ! Did you paint the legs with a brush or was it spray painted ?
Sprayed! ;)
Thank you so much Kristi!
This is SOOOO fantastic Jen! Absolutely LOVE the white base with the dark wood and those chairs are fab!