table drama

it all started out like this, so we have been scouring places to find a new dining room table and chairs to replace the tiny one we had from our apartment days.  i wanted to keep it under a certain amount and to also find something that b and i can refurbish together.

so i walk into a thrift store on a whim and spot this sad looking but large and project worthy table for only $18.  i had to ask the clerk if that price was correct because i couldn't believe it.  we didn't snap a before pic, so this is after we sanded it.  it pulls apart to fit a leaf in the middle, but unfortunately the leaf wasn't with the table.

we should have cleaned the lense first, duh!  but anyway here is proof that i worked on the table :-)  my first time using a sander.  i really liked this part of the job.

 all of our furniture is a dark color, so naturally we went with an ebony stain for the new table.  also my firt time staining. 

 we had to let the stain sit on the table for 15 minutes before we wiped it off. 

this was the end result.  not at all what we had thought.  we wanted it to be as dark as our chairs, but with multiple coasts of stain and then some research, we learned that it would not get any darker.  when we got the table into our kitchen, it was ginormous.

PART II

on a whim, i went to a local thrift store because we were on the lookout for some chairs for our new table.  low and behold i spot this puppy sitting smack dab in the front the of the store.  i was first enticed by the chairs because they were pretty close to what we were looking for.  i asked the clerk if she would see me just the chairs but was denied.

i spot some other people eying the table as well, so i just plop myself down on the chair and stake my claim.  within a few minutes i was able to negotiate the price from $160 to $140 and this table and chairs were mine.

there are a few rough spots on the edges, but overall it's the color and style we want and it fits our space more nicely.  so now our project table will just become scrap wood for other projects and a good education in refinishing.