Colossal DIY Fail…….Or Rustic Chic Dining Room Table Makeover?
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I’ve been working on this DIY reveal for…..oh…..at least several weeks??? And I still can’t tell if it’s a colossal FAIL…………or if I inadvertently created a rustic, “weathered chic” look with the $12.00 dining room table I found at the (most awesome ever!) thrift store near my house. You know, the one I go to damn-near eeeevvveerrrry Monday and Thursday when they boast 25% off of everything.
Anyhow, I digress……
You decide if this is a FAIL or an accidental stroke of genius. LOL
Pretty dramatic, right?? There’s something about dark wood that is so alluring and beautiful!
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Just some of the materials you will need to complete a job like this!
I love how it turned out!!
I kid you not– I bought this table for $12.00! I knew instantly that I wanted to refinish it–stain it, or paint it with some Annie Sloan chalk paint, which I have yet to fully test!
Staining won out, and I couldn’t wait to get started, since I had never stained a THING in my life. I TRIED to plan according by going to Home Depot and buying all these things I thought I would need:
I broke out my trusty ‘ole sander and decided to “jump right in” and skip the harsh stripping chemicals. Sanding will work just as well, right??
WRONG!
If you are staining a project, do not “jump right in”!
Be sure to plan your project carefully, from the correct type of stripper to use, to learning how to use an orbital sander so that you don’t gouge your wood, etc. Because I “jumped right in” and skipped the stripper, I was left with invisible, spotty patches because the sander hadn’t removed enough of the old varnish. The stain couldn’t penetrate the old varnish, of course, which left me with seriously blotchy areas. Unless I wanted to start over (NOT!), I had to try to cover it up and pass it off as “distressed” and “rustic.” Was I successful? LOL
I did use the MiniWax Pre-Stain so that the color would be uniform. However, when you skip the stripper and rely on the sander to get all the previous varnish off, this is what you wind up with:
A blotchy mess!
This is what it looked like after the first 1-2 coats of MiniWax Red Mahogany, which I first used. HORRID, I tell ya….
I ended up sanding out the middle leaf part again, and reapplied the stain. Doing so resulted in the middle leaf staining a bit darker than the other parts of the table. So if you look closely, it’s a darker. Be careful when staining so that all parts are stained at exactly the same time, to ensure even coverage.
After I applied the Pre-Stain, and then the Red Mahogany, I waited 24 hours and went over the body again with the Polyshades in the Antique Mahogany finish,which deepened the color, and helped cover up some of the light spots throughout the body.
I also put 3 coats of additional water-based Polycrylics over the whole table, using even strokes.
I’m actually loving the rich color, and shiny table top!
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I picked up this sweet little bench from Ross a couple months ago, for about $35, which I love! The kids will use.
Okay, so real quick– A couple other things.
1. The horrible chandelier in the dining room–CRAFT PAINT NEEDED! I’ll post that project soon.
2. The mirror– another thrift store find, of course! Great find for only $25. The detailing is amazing!
3. And just a reminder what this dining room looked like when we moved in, in 2010….ugh, the wallpaper! What a PITA to remove. Wallpaper should be banned. Just sayin’.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
BEFORE
AFTER
Anyhow…..this was a fun project. I LOVE stain now. The rich color is so beautiful! Even with its wonky parts, our new table is a big improvement over THIS little bistro table, which we’ve been using for the past 8 years. Really, Serena?? A bistro table with a family of 5? HA! Now, that is ghetto.
So, to find this table for so cheap, and to turn it from this…..
….into this….
….makes me happy, regardless of its faults. Next time, I know better. Isn’t that what DIY is about??
Have you ever had a project that could have been a total colossal fail, but you ended up rocking it out anyhow?
Leave a comment!
Happy thrift-diving!
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I’m happy you were able to see past the wallpaper disaster that was your house when you bought it . . . LOL!
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Oh, “wallpaper disaster” is stating it mildly, Liz! Every room, with the exception of the boys’ room, was covered in wallpaper. Looking back, I can’t believe we tackled such a project.
Wallpaper is the WORST! The rustic table is awesome! You’ve done a great job and that inspires me. We move in to our “new” home in a week and luckily it only has minimal wallpaper….but other unattractive things that need to be fixed on the cheap!!
Definitely NOT a fail on your table. It’s gorgeous and unique.
Didleigh, you said it right–wallpaper is the WORSE! I should re-post some of our wallpaper removal pics. You would never believe the big ‘ole crap piles of the stuff! LOL Congrats on the upcoming move!! A new house can drain you, so definitely DIY’ing it will get your place to where you need to fix it up. Thanks for the comment, btw!
Love the table! What did you use to remove the wallpaper? Fabric softener and water works GREAT! I tackled several rooms in my father’s home this way. Comes off pretty easily and smells fabulous.
LOVE it! And I think having the leaf a little darker adds to the rustic feel.
This looks amazing! I noticed you used the word”pita”…lol I say that all the time and nobody even knows what I am talking about!
Michelle, we used a variety of methods, but the most helpful was the wallpaper steamer for about $50from Home Depot. But once we removed the wallpaper, we were left blotchy brown paper-ish spots everywhere where the top layer of drywall had come off. That was a whole ‘nother issue and steps to repair. YIKES! We still have a couple rooms/areas that need wallpaper removal. I’ll be posting it here soon!
Mickelson Family, yeah, it’s a PITA when people don’t know what PITA means (hee hee).
Thank you for sharing this project. It was nice to see the transformation !
Wow, it’s so nuts that I stumbled on your blog. I JUST had a conversation with my boss about how amazing it is when people can see projects in old furniture. We’re talking maybe half an hour ago!
I say this table is a complete win, it’s gorgeous! Well done
Hi there! I found you through the Haven FB page.
When I read this post, I had to laugh when I saw the stain is MinWax Red Mahogany. That is what my kitchen cabinets are stained with and I’m tellin ya, they are ORANGE! I’m glad to see they can be saved by darkening them up…there is hope! LOVE the table! It looks like something you would spend a fortune for at a furniture store. Great work! Thanks for sharing!