Dining Table

Some time ago I decided that we'd outgrown our dining room table.

I still loved the table, but it just didn't provide us with enough room. It was meant to seat 4, and we often have people over for dinner, parties, etc.

We needed more space.

So I shopped online to find something I loved.

Of COURSE this monster from Pottery Barn caught my eye.

$1000 for the table

$200 for the side chairs, $280 for the arm chairs.

So I pulled out my credit card and paid extra for super-fast delivery so I could have it by the weekend.

Yeah, right.

Actually, I started cruising craigslist and ksl.com (a local news stations classified site.)

I wasn't in any hurry. I had a tight budget and a clear idea of what I wanted, so I played it cool even when a couple dining sets popped up that looked like they might be perfect. If the seller wasn't willing to negotiate on price, I was out.

(Very proud of myself for that, btw!)

I found this set fairly early on, but wasn't willing to pay what the seller was asking.

The ad said they were selling the table because they were moving out of state, so I told them that if it hadn't sold by the time they were ready to go, I'd give them $100 for it.

(these were the pictures posted with the for sale ad)

A month later, it was mine :)

It measures 42x60, without the leaf, which adds another 24 inches to the length.

We shouldn't be outgrowing a 7 foot dining table anytime soon!

It came with 6 chairs, though the seller did warn me that one was "kind of beat up"

To be honest, the whole thing was "kind of beat up" - if "kind of" means "really".

Also, those lines which look like grooves in the above photos were not. They were painted on.

The table top required a lot of sanding. A lot.

There were some crazy-deep scratches in the surface of the table. I used some plastic wood to fill them in.

Luckily, I was going for a sort of weathered look. A Pottery Barn-distressed-chic look. It worked :)

Obviously those 90's era metal bars in the back of the chairs weren't going to work. Ick. Seriously.

I went after the backs with an assortment of tools. Screwdrivers, hammer and a variety of things that I'm certain I wasn't using correctly.

After the first one they came out pretty smoothly.

The whole thing got several (as in, like, 100) coats of Heirloom White Rustoleum.

On the table top I actually used Behr's new premium paint in a color whose name I can't recall, but which matches Heirloom White exactly. I rolled the paint on, then brushed over it to mimic how the wood actually was underneath - length wise except at the ends where it went width wise. Rolling it on first made it just the tiniest bit tacky, which meant I got a good amount of brush stroke in the paint. I was very fast and sort of slip-shod in my brushing - and it turned out perfectly, looks just like wood grain. (patting myself on the back.)

Over the paint I rubbed a minwax stain in Golden Pecan. I made sure to really rub it into all the distressed areas. After just a moment, I wiped it off. It gave the creamy paint color a lot of depth and made it really gorgeous.

Over the top I put 2 coats of polyurethane. Over the polyurethane I put 2 coats of polyacrylic. I love the way polyacrylic looks, and I have 2 kids. Extra coats of poly seemed like a good idea.

The table took about a week of sanding, painting, sanding, painting, staining and poly-ing.

The chairs were where the real work was.

Once I had them sanded, painted and stained I recovered their cushions.

At this point, we moved everything in from the garage and started using it.

I knew I needed to do something to the backs, but wasn't sure exactly what, and I wanted my parking spot back, so they got moved in backless.

Not comfortable, btw.

After a couple of weeks of discussing every possible solution, (and talking to several woodworking shops in the area, none of whom were helpful) I decided to do it myself.

I bought 3/4 inch MDF from the Home Dept and drew a template. Then I used a scroll saw (with Matt's help - I kept breaking blades!) to cut them out. Lots of sanding, some distressing, painting (etc.) later - and it was finally done!

The project turned out better than I even hoped.

I am as proud of this table and chairs as I have ever been about anything I've ever created.

Including my children.

For real.

After my mother in law had seen the table she found out I had refinished it.

She told me she had no idea - she thought it was from Pottery Barn.

I was so happy I barely refrained from jumping up and down.

Best. Compliment. Ever.

:)

Next Up: a bench for the kids to sit on (I'm terrified they're going to ruin my new upholstry!) and a centerpiece that will do my baby justice.

Linking up with ASPTL for DIY Day :)