Tuesday, July 9, 2013

IT. IS. FINISHED!!!!

Hello again :) I hope you enjoy today's journey!

My dining set is FINALLY finished!! WooHoo!!! This week I'm going to take you along to see just exactly what we did to the table and then show you the whole set. Are you ready?

I found this set on Craigslist and instantly fell in love. I didn't necessarily "love" the way it looked but I loved it for what I knew it could be. My husband, not so much . . .


Luckily he was willing to go along (I think just so he could say "I told you it wouldn't work" later!)

The first step to refurbishing the table was to give it a GOOD scrubbing with TSP. Believe it or not, the apron and legs of this set were originally white . . . or at least a much lighter version of what you see here.


Even though it didn't smell like smoke, I'm pretty sure this set had lived with a heavy smoker at one time.

Once the nasty yellow gunk was removed it was time to fix the gouges. I lightly sanded the gouges, applied wood putty and waited for it to dry. When it was good and dry I sanded again. Then it was time to paint!

I have to tell you the redo of this set involved a lot of blood, sweat and tears. And this table top caused more than it's fair share of the tears!! Because the table top was a veneer it couldn't be sanded down and stained. That is possible with some veneers but because of the gouges it had to be painted. First we tried spray paint in a can. Oil Rubbed Bronze is the color I chose. The first couple coats were definitely an improvement but it looked streaky. A third coat didn't seem to help. We decided to apply another coat with a roller. That helped some but it still wasn't the look I wanted. (Queue the tears!) After the fifth and final coat I finally decided I was over having a perfect table top!

Let's just move on to painting the apron!!


And the legs . . .


 After the paint dried I applied a coat of antiquing glaze.


 I prefer to wipe some of the glaze off with a damp sponge and follow up with a clean cloth.


I applied a coat of Miss Mustard Seed Soft Wax with a brush once the glaze had dried. . .


allowed the wax to dry for a bit, then lightly buffed with a clean cloth.

We put the legs back on and stood her up in her new home. Sorry, I was too excited to take a picture of that!

Are you ready? Huh? Huh? Are you ready?
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Drum roll please . . . . . .

 








I'm so over the moon with how it turned out! And the hubs? Ya, he's pretty much in love with it too!

Thanks again for stopping by.

Till next time,
Julie (the DIYer)

Up next:
Hmmm . . . not sure. I've got another china hutch and a kidney desk that have been patiently waiting . . .

35 comments:

  1. This truly is beautiful. I can only imagine the blood, sweat and TEARS. Looking forward to your next project.

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  2. Fantastic! What a beautiful job. You've inspired me to look beyond.

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  3. What a gorgeous restoration. The hutch, table and chairs are swoon worthy! Your vision was right on the mark!

    I suspect not having a perfect tabletop actually works to keep the integrity of the look.

    Your dining room looks absolutely stunning. I hope you enjoy many, many happy meals dining at this table.

    By the way, has your husband finished eating his words yet? LOL!

    jaime

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    1. Awww, thank you so much for the compliments! Believe it or not we haven't eaten a meal at this table yet! My husband is now actually actively looking for more pieces to redo :)

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  4. This is gorgeous, Julie! I'm a sucker for that style of chair. You did a beautiful job!

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    1. Thank you Jennifer. I never really knew what my "style" was but I've recently come to realize that these curved legs catch my eye every time. Now I'm looking for them everywhere!

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  5. From drab to fab! Great job! Love your tablesetting too.

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    1. Thank you :) Those dishes belonged to my grandmother. Even as a child I loved those dishes. Now that she has passed on they belong to me and I truly cherish them.

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  6. Saw your work on Better After and had to come over for a closer look. Great job!

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  7. Here from Better After ~ Love it!

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  8. My kind of beautiful! :-) Wonderful job! (Visiting from Better After)

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  9. Gorgeous!! Btw what kind of paint did you use for the apron/legs?

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    1. Thank you Nora! The paint was Benjamin Moore Super Hide Latex Eggshell in a custom color. Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. Oh my gosh. I saw this on Better After & you have given me hope for the table & 'hutch cabinet' I inherited from my parents. The hutch is about 50 years old & the table about 40 - they both came from our ranch where not only was there a boatload of dust, each parent smoked 2-3 packs of cigarettes a day. They're in perfect condition, so I might just have the guts to update them now. Or would you like to do it?

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    1. LOL, that you so much! Go for it! You'll be glad you did :)

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  11. HI Julie - congrats on the SO WELL DESERVED feature on Better After!!!
    This is one amazingly beautiful makeover.
    Love every single detail of it - I'm your newest follower!
    Big hugs from Montreal
    ( fellow furniture painter )
    Suzan

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    1. Hi Suzan :) I'm so honored you stopped by! I've been to your blog MANY times. Your white "Country Sunshine" hutch/buffet makeover is one of the first ones I saw on Better After. And I love, love, love your red dresser makeovers too! Thanks again for stopping by. I'm now YOUR newest follower :)

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  12. You did a beautiful job on the hutch, table & chairs! Your dining room is stunning! I was wondering if you sealed the table top & if you did what did you use?

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    1. Hi,
      No, I did not seal the table top. I decided to wait and see how it held up. Now if I can just get the nerve to actually USE it! :)

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  13. Beautiful! Wow you did a great job! What color is the "white"? I love it

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    1. Hi LouAnn,
      Thank you! I had the paint department do a color match to Miss Mustard Seeds "Linen".

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  14. THIS is what refinishing furniture is all about...it is spectacular! Can you tell me, what finish did you use on both the white and the bronze? Thanks

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    1. Hello,
      The white is Benjamin Moore Super Hide Latex Eggshell that I had matched to Miss Mustard Seed's "Linen". The entire piece was glazed with a mixture of Benjamin Moore Acrylic Glaze in clear and Behr Ultra Flat in French Roast. The hardware was spray painted with Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze. Thank you!

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  15. Absolutely fab, so worth all the blood sweat and tears, you've done a great job, and loved your attention to detail with the glaze and wax :)

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  16. Wow, how timely! I am about to start refinishing this EXACT SAME SET, also purchased on craigslist. I’m going to use a different technique – Annie Sloan and gilt. It is wonderful to see these after shots as motivation to keep at it. There is a lot of surface area of work ahead! Thank you for sharing and enjoy!

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    1. Beth,
      Yes, there certainly is a lot of surface area! Good luck on your pieces! Would love to see your set when it's done :)

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  17. Here from Better After and loved seeing the results of your hard work. Craig's list can be quite a bargain hunt sometimes. I am afraid to look for it is like Pinterest and all the other blogs...could spend an entire day! Great Job!

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    1. CeCe - LOL . . . Pinterest and Craigslist . . . those two are the best combination ever! Thanks for the compliments and for stopping by!

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  18. Popped over from Better After and stayed to read your entire site. Hope you have more posts up soon. Great job, by the way!

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  19. I followed a link here from Better After. What an incredible transformation. I want to know more! What color did you paint the top and where does one buy antiquing glaze? I like that so much better than distressed.

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