I have a few posts coming of projects we finished in warmer weather but never published. Sometimes I feel like we're moving at a snail's pace getting this house ready, but reading back over these helps me see that more has been accomplished than I realized and I can be patient. Sort of. A work in progress, anyway.
Want to see my new sunroom furniture? Actually, only the chairs are new. The table's been with us for a few states.
We found this oak pedestal table and four chairs {below} for fifty dollars at a garage sale when we first moved to Washington. They were fine and sturdy, but boring, so when we moved to Wisconsin, this was my first refinishing project. I painted the table black, but left the chairs because the thought of trying to refinish them was scary. It still is. All of those spindles!
In our kitchen in Wisconsin
The top was never as smooth as I would have liked {I didn't know to sand and use gradually higher grit sandpapers}, and because I had used a spray poly, after only a year or so, the paint began to chip and you could see the oak underneath. It looked like it always had crumbs. I decided that it would be a pretty easy redo, and you can read about how my young friend, Elizabeth, helped me out with it here.
As you can see below, we {read Elizabeth, since I was about 8 1/2 months prego} sanded well between each coat and made it smooth and glossy. Much better.
Then we stenciled it, which was a fun project that I delegated and Elizabeth executed. Fun for everyone! Well, it was fun for me and she didn't complain, so I'll just infer. A couple of coats of a brush on outdoor grade poly for durability and we called it done.
When we moved to this house, the table was downstairs in the homeschool area {remember, we put the piano in the eat-in kitchen area}. I wasn't wild about it there, though. I would rather have a rectangle or square table for the school area. I have no reason for this. It's just a preference thing.
So when I was in ReStore a couple of months ago and found this sturdy monster of a table for twenty-four dollars, I jumped at it!
It needs a little love, which I'm more than happy to give it. It also seats six comfortably, which makes it workable for company in the future in addition to giving lots of space to do school now.
Back to the pedestal table. I put it in the sunroom and it fast became a favorite place for the kids and me to eat lunch. It was just so, well, black, which didn't fit my vision for the room, but I still love the table top and didn't want to change that. So I carefully covered the top and painted both the pedestal and the rim of the top.
While in ReStore finding the table, we also came upon some beautiful antique chairs. There were only three, but they were very sound and sturdy, and I figured I could find one or two others on Craigslist eventually. Besides, they were only nine dollars apiece!
They look pretty good in the picture above. Even the upholstery doesn't look terrible. Oh, friends. Pictures are deceiving. The wood was stained in some places, but in others it had only been painted brown. Also, the veneer was coming loose in several areas on the lyre section of the backs. I decided to paint them white to go with my table. It was a scary undertaking because of all the details.
I could not get in every nook an cranny, as you can see below. Also, can you see the veneer that chipped off? Thankfully I found the pieces.
Clamps were my friend as I did my amateur best to repair the chairs.
Finally they were done and ready for paint. I put them on boxes in the yard.
A few coats later, I had pretty white chairs.
Don't they look cute with the table?
I found an awesome silver vinyl that actually looks like silk. I loved it so much that I upholstered most of my dining room chairs in it, also. Wipeability is key in this house.
I love the set. I will hopefully find a fourth chair on craigslist at some point, but I'm not worrying about it.
This is the view from the living room. You can see the set from the front door. Yet again, excuse my photography skills.
The white is so much lighter and suits a sunroom much better.
p.s. I left the oak spindle chairs with the homeschool table downstairs. They're very sturdy and comfortable, and they match the stain of table top. It's not the prettiest oak color, but at least they go together. I've heard that you can use a gel stain right over top of your existing stain, and I would love to try it, but I would HATE to try it and have it not work and be stuck. Those spindles! *shudder*
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