Let’s play two truths and a lie:
- I completely freaking hate this table.
2. I completely freaking love this table.
3. I must have been out of my freaking mind to try to refinish this table.
Hmm, actually, at any given time over the last few days, any one of those statements was true.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS when you veer from the plan.
Wait, I had an actual plan?
Yes, I did. Really,
When I discovered this month’s “Where Bloggers Live” topic was “Do It Yourself,” I was pretty happy because I’d already started making new picture ledges, like these:
They’re a fun DIY, not too complex, and I thought it would be a great time to update this old post from the last time I made them.
One post due, and three ledges mostly finished? Perfect!
But then I heard the weather report.
If there’s one thing people in Buffalo look forward to, it’s “Fake Spring.” You know, the brief break in the weather that happens sometime in February or March, when the temperature briefly rises, the daffodils break ground, people fire up the grill, put on a light jacket, hide the boots and enjoy the promise that warmer temperatures and Robins are about to return.
For me, Fake Spring meant a change in gears, because I had ONE LAST project I wanted to finish for my (multi-year) living room makeover, and the warm temperatures offered me a new opportunity to finish this mother (oops, sorry, I still have pandemic potty mouth):
I found this table on Craigslist several years ago and instantly fell in love with the shape of the table top, the detail on the legs, and the curves of the skirt and stretcher bars. Whether paired with ladder back chairs or as a side table, I knew I’d eventually find a place for it.
The top stripped easily, and although I hoped to find a nice light-colored wood underneath all that orange, I was disappointed to find a dark, spotty gray/brown color instead. Still, I looooved everything about the shape….and those gorgeous legs…until I attempted to strip one of them.
Ooof. The acky orange did NOT want to let go… I scraped, added more stripper, tried the plastic wrap trick (which didn’t work for me), rubbed the gunk off with rags, bristle brushed it. It seemed like an hour to just clear about three inches.
Replacing determination with procrastination, I put/hid the table on the side of the porch and didn’t touch it again for the next three years. Until last fall, Mr. suggested a new place for it….by the curb.
You know what that means, right? One of those “I thought you were going to DO something with that” lectures… or worse: the NON-lecture where I’m reminded that I haven’t touched the table in three years, and that I likely wouldn’t, and why don’t I just buy a table. And although he doesn’t mean to say it smarmily, I hear it SMARMILY.
Not that he wasn’t right. It’s just annoying when he’s THAT kind of right.
Which means I. HAD. TO. FINISH. THE. TABLE.
I worked on it for a few nights in the back hallway-turned-furniture-stripping-workshop. (Furniture stripper throws off strong fumes so the nearby powder room fan was helpful. The glass of wine didn’t hurt either.)
If only I had some type of protective device to cover my mouth and nose. That would be handy.
This was the process. Brush on:
Scrape off:
All along the outer edge of the table, on those lovely curved stretch bars and aprons, and up and down the lovely detailed legs. Did I tell you I hated this freaking table?
And after I finished scraping, I was left with a table with lots of gunky residue (which I’m certain must be an industry term). Gunky, as in a resin vomit-like mixture that filled most of the crevices up and down the legs. Yep. I DEFinitely hate this table.
And that meant sanding. LOTS of sanding:
LOTS….
And LOTS…
And LOTS and LOTS of sanding….
Boy, is sanding ever fun! 😩 It’s also another opportunity to get additional use from your face mask collection.
You know what’s even more fun? When you’re DONE with sanding!!!
Because the perk of Fake Spring is being able to paint outside so the 271 light coats of paint (okay, 5 or 6) can dry quickly. (I know! This is where you say, “all that just to PAINT IT!!!” You’re right, and we discuss it in the comments section.)
And THEN you can bring the project-that-never-ends inside and put in your living room. And then Mr, not-intentionally-smarmy can ZIP it.
Okay….I freaking LOVE this table. But the one thing you should know… is there aren’t ANY shortcuts.
You know how I can NEVER make a decision?
What do you think: Leave the table black, or add a few gold accents? Which team are you on?
After you’re done helping me decide, please visit my “Where Bloggers Live” colleagues to see what they’re DIYing this month.
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Em at Dust and Doghair
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? Over the next few months, a group of six bloggers will be sharing their workspaces, their homes, towns and more!
Make sure you visit everyone to see where the magic happens!
I love finding gems like this in the wormhole known as Pinterest. And, I’ll have to admit — I love all things chippy wood so the video clip up top where it was just … weathered and antique looking — I LOVE THAT! However, after seeing how much more formal the room you wanted to put it in was, I can see why you wanted it to look more finished. Your room is beautiful by the way…
I wish I’d explored bleaching the top… because i loved the unfinished wood as shown. The top was soooo dark tho! 😡
Another day.
Meanwhile…THANKS for popping in and “signing the guestbook.” Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Wow!! I have only stripped furniture once or twice. And that was plenty for me. My pieces were somewhat intricate, too. I know I didn’t do well by them. Your piece is just beautiful. Love the simplicity of the top with the more detailed legs. And I prefer the black without the gold. It lets the beauty of the furniture do all the talking.
Well done!! Way to show that mister of yours that you mean business!!
This is a prime example of why I’m drawn to you. I, too, would spend a zillion hours stripping and sanding every speck of finish off of a wooden table just to paint it… Honestly. What kind of crazy are we? And is there a pill we can take?
If there is, lead me to it.
I think once I knew I was going to paint it, that’s when the “I hate this table” phase set in, because I KNEW I really only had to sand down what was left to get a smooth paint finish….but you know the rest: I couldn’t stop myself, I had to see it through. The bleached version (which I may try when we eventually redec) is still a someday possibility (sure, Jan). But the spot for it beckoned for paint.
I’m just relieved to know I am not the only crazy creature out there.
Leave the table black – it’s gorgeous.
I could do that sort of thing back in the day – don’t think I could do it now. That’s a LOT of work (but then you know that).
From reading your posts and learning how handy Chuck was, I know you would have been right along with me, Iris. I suspect you’re already surrounded by similar projects, I know you have a love for antiques and pieces that tell a story…like your family’s square dining table. I’d love to know about where this little guy came from, or at least the time…just to know the era.
Wow – a lot of work! Can I ask a serious question: If you were going to paint it, why strip it? It came out lovely and looks perfect in your pretty room!
You can ALWAYS as a serious question! And yours is the same one I asked myself 427 times this week. When I first started to strip the table, OH-so-many-moons ago, I was on team natural wood and hoped it would have some beautiful grain underneath. At the time I saw it like a bleached, unfinished wood and would have paired it with ladder back chairs, or in-between the wingbacks in my kitchen. Or, perhaps, seal the top and paint the legs (to coordinate with the dresser in the last picture. Stripping the top, I saw that there seemed to be a layer of ivory paint between the wood and the orange. There was a grease-like stain on the top of the wood that kept resurfacing, However, I had also tried to strip one of the legs and discovered the slow go, and that’s when I put it aside.
That spot in the living room started calling and I truly did start looking at buying a table, but the one outside the window kept calling. Midway through the second leg, knowing I was going to paint it, I kept muttering to myself to just sand it and paint it! But I felt I had to see it through, bizarre as that may seem. Sometimes I can’t get out of my own way, haha!
I love the way you have transformed your table – all that hard work surely paid off. Have you seen the
Diana Lace Doily Stencil (“includes a silhouette and a detail layer to create an intricate and feminine pattern for a feature wall or painted furniture “) at royaldesignstudio.com ?? Maybe a subtle hazy gold image on the table top and lightly brushed gold on its ‘knees’ down the legs?? I am planning to stencil a matte design on my breakfast table in clear varnish, over a gloss finish tabletop…. to give an illusion of a design. Well, I have seen done by another d-i-y er, so what could possibly go wrong? Mmmm…
Hi, Val! Wow, did you send me down a rabbit hole! I spent waaayyy too much time checking out stencils at that website. Five minutes into it, I switched from thinking about tables and doilies over to their beautiful encaustic tile stencils. In my head, I put a faux backsplash in my kitchen, madeover the tile on my fireplace surround, and toyed with redoing our bathroom floor. That was the most progress I had all year, haha.
I’ve seen matte on shiny designs on other things…a friend did it on her dining room wall and it was lovely. Sometimes it’s fun to just give it a go…and in my case gives me something new to complain about.
Fake spring?? OMG, I love that term. In Denver, I always said the weather was bipolar!!
You know how you always say you wouldn’t think to put the colors together that I do? Well, that’s how I feel about this table. I wouldn’t have looked twice at it, yet you’ve made it absolutely fabulous (my opinion is to keep it all black. Not sure why, but I do love it).
BUT OMG, the work in refinishing it like that. I had NO idea. I think that is why I love the idea of DIY, but I don’t do it (knitting doesn’t count. Knitting is yoga to me and I can do it without chemicals….haha).
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Let me tell you, I’m on the fence about fake spring. I love feeling the warm air and going outside with a light jacket, or no jacket. But the killer comes the next week, when we get ice storms or snow, and it stays mostly gray and cold for another eight weeks…and I am mentally already for summer. It’s the longest time of the year for me.
So…a good time for projects, and I’m really happy I finished it (although you’re right about the chemicals. I’m guessing it’s why my face feels on fire this week). The things we do for craft!
(Also, the consensus seems to be ‘team black’ and I think maybe there’s enough going on in that room. So thanks for weighing in!)