My Not-So-New Kitchen Table

I am so excited to finally post this...it's been a looong one in the making. You know the type if project...you buy the item off Craig, it sits in your garage while you finish up other projects, your husband complains about the room it's taking up and you say "but I've got a vision!". Been there, right? Right? (tell me I'm not alone ;)

Anyway, I found this table on Craigslist after searching (and searching) for a round dining table at the right price. I was willing to put in the work, but didn't want to spend over $50...and I didn't want chairs. It had to be 48" in diameter...not 42 or 52. Not an easy task. This is what I finally found for $45

Solid pine with a pedestal base...exactly what I wanted, minus the grooves on the top, but everything else was perfect. See the pedestal? Yeah...it had seen better days due to a dog chewing on it. Come to think of it, there was no dog around when I went to pickup the table. Guessing at the amount of wood he consumed, maybe that's why he wasn't around :(

Anyway, this is what we had in our kitchen space prior to the round table. WAY, WAY to big for the space. What you can't see from the picture is that the table butts up right to the family room and right to the island on the other side. Too.big.


On to the round table rehab...I saw my inspiration at Stories of a House . The look of this table was exactly what I was wanting. Christa was amazing with answering a few questions I had about stripping, wood color, etc. Check out her blog if you haven't yet!

I stripped the top with Citrustrip and even after scrubbing it with steel wool AND Citrustrip and lots of sanding, it was still pretty uneven. Enter Minwax Pre Stain wood conditioner...amazing. It really evened out the imperfections.

I stained the top with 2 coats of Minwax Fruitwood stain...I tried a few others first but this was exactly the color I wanted. Not too red, not too gray. Then I painted the pedestal and apron black and distressed it. I love distressing...it's so unpredictable and fun! After that, I did a wipe on poly on the whole thing. I love wipe on poly, but for a table top, it needed something more, so I did another coat of brush on poly on the top. Perfection! After the table was in place, I nearly teared up...it's SO much better in this space and gives it much more character. Even the chairs from the old table work!

As a refresher, here was my inspiration by Christa


And here is my new to me, kitchen table!

Wheee! I love it! Now, about that light fixture....

~Allison

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