• Kitchen Table Refinishing Project

    Date: 2010.12.01 | Category: home improvement | Tags:

    Hi guys!

    How are we all feeling after the Thanksgiving holiday?  I came home refreshed and ready to tackle another big project.  This week, I’ve been tackling the kitchen table refinishing project.

    This is how our kitchen looks right now:

    IMG_3179

    It’s pretty small, and as you can see one of the chairs does not match.  The next problem is that it’s a little low, and exactly eye-level for Ada, which means our food is in a prime location for canine covert operations.  We really prefer bar-height to this height.

    A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I bought a fairly cheap dining set.  Neither of us wanted to go all out and get something really nice because the timing just isn’t right for an all-out investment.  So we got the next best thing: a cheap dining set from Garden Ridge (that we affectionately sometimes refer to as the "crap store" – there is some good stuff there, but definitely a lot of crap).  The dining set we got was a dark wood, and it doesn’t match our kitchen.  So I decided to refinish and paint it, Younghouselove-style.

    The tutorial on how to paint furniture was exactly what I needed.  So far I have followed the tutorial instructions to a T.  On Monday night, I spent about 2 hours sanding the surface of the dining set.  I HATE SANDING.  It makes my teeth hurt just imagining the noise of sandpaper against smooth finished wood.  But I wanted this to turn out just right so I dutifully followed their instructions.

    IMG_3181

    (This picture shows the sanded table with the start of the primer job)

    Last night I bought supplies: oil-based primer, semi-gloss latex paint, and Minwax Water-Based Polycrylic Protective Finish (just as they recommended).  I then spent the next 5 hours priming and painting the dining set.  Fun. 

    I worked a little late tonight, so I got a second coat of white paint on, and this is what I’m looking at now:

    IMG_3183

    (It’s still wet so that’s why you can see the unevenness)

    I have another coat of paint to go, plus the protective finish, and I just noticed that they recommended to apply 2 coats of the finish.  Sad face.  Just an observation: the peeps at Younghouselove are awfully patient.  In addition to all these coats of paint, they even recommend waiting 48 hours before using the furniture.

    I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it that long, but I do want my project to turn out like theirs did.  So I’ll try to hold out.  Two things are for sure: my before and after pictures will be up soon, and the next few days are going to be spent in the basement with a paint brush in my hand. 

    After that, I promise to revert to talking about food and fitness.  For a little while.