HJ Custom Design & Photography

Refinished Table:

I have been looking for a new kitchen table for awhile and after discovering Centsational Girl, I knew I wanted to take on the task of refinishing a good quality existing one. I searched Craigslist but the right one never came up. Luckily, my sister Steph, spotted some chairs at a garage sale she just had to have. However, they were only being sold as a set with the table. Ding, ding, ding a deal was struck and I have the table and she has the chairs (well most of them, that is another post). After hauling the HEAVY table home I headed to Lowes (my home improvement store of choice) to purchase the necessary supplies and equipment.

Here is the table before. It had scratches across the top and this corner had some good gouges.

The legs were not in very good condition either. It was a well used table in its past life.

I started by sanding the table. Then added a little wood filler to some of the larger gouges.

After another round of sanding I realized I needed to strip the old finish off for best results.
Back to Lowe's I went. I decided to try a new stripper called "Citristrip." It is suppose to be less toxic and better for the environment. Plus it smells much better than other options, has an orange scent.

After applying the stripper to the entire top of the table I let it sit for about an hour and then scraped it off.

The Citristrip did a good job taking off the original finish but left a sticky residue. Back to Lowe's I went to find a solution. Thankfully, Citristrip sales a cleaning agent, imagine that, which took care of the residue. (Citristrip Paint Stripper After Wash)

After cleaning off all the Citristrip After Wash and letting it dry, I gave the table another good sanding.

The next step was to apply the stain.

All together I applied three coats of Dark Walnut stain until I was satisfied with the results.

I needed to apply a polyurethane to protect the beautiful stain.

Three days and four coats latter the table looked like this! Much better than the before.

Next, I covered and taped the top to protect it while I painted underneath.
I used spray paint from Rust-oleum, heirloom white (found at Home Depot).

The legs received a fresh coat of the same color as well.

Once the table was completed and all put together I loved the way it turned out!

I also re-finished a few of the chairs in the same color and with some new fabric.

Here is the completed breakfast room with the new chandelier as well.
(sorry, it still needs to be centered in the room)