My mom and dad came out for Jack's baptism, which happened to be the week before we left for spring break. My dad likes to stay busy, so I thought we could refinish my kitchen table together while he was here. I ended up having a TON to do (of course, what was I thinking!) and couldn't help him much, but he got it mostly sanded down and then when I got back I finished the project.
Here's what it looked like before:
We bought it from our neighbor before we left Utah, she didn't have room for it and we loved its big bulky sturdiness. It came with different chairs. The chairs are another story for another post.
After sanding it down, this is the beautiful wood that we found. I think it is alder, and it is such a gorgeous color. Well, I wanted to keep it very close to the natural color, so I went to the little woodworking store here in town to get advice, and I was told to use an oil-varnish blend for a finish. I bought the stuff, came home, mixed it up and put it on, but as it dried it turned very very orange. I cried. And then had to wait over a week for it to cure before I could strip or sand it off again.
In the end, I used a milk paint white wash and then went over it with wood stain in a driftwood color. I then finished it with polycrylic and wax.
I LOVE the way it turned out! And, I love the way it looks with my chairs. It only took me 5 weeks.
That is the coolest hugest chunkiest table I think I've ever seen! What a lot of work, but it certainly paid off in the end!
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