A New Table in The Dining Room

I’ve got a new table in the dining room! Well, it’s not really a new table. Because it’s old, but it is new to me. And I’m not sure if you would call this a dining room. It’s off our kitchen, so maybe it’s an eating area in the kitchen?Except it’s not in the kitchen. Are you as confused as I am? For now, I’m calling it the dining room because, well it’s where we dine.

When we moved last October I knew our former kitchen table and chairs had seen better days. So, I decided to use our formal dining room table and chairs in this area since we don’t have a formal dining room. Fast forward to the holidays and I knew that we needed to replace it sooner, rather than later as it was way to big for that space.

The plan was for The Hubs to build me one out of some old barn wood of my dads. However, The Hubs shop isn’t up and running yet. We decided to buy an older sturdy table and fix it up until The Hubs could make me a table. Shortly after Christmas I found this sad little table. She’s super sturdy, she just needed a little love.

Along with the table came these french styled cane back chairs. I loved them! They were also sturdy and I was super excited because all of the cane backs were in perfect shape!

We loaded them up, tied them down with a “spider” bungee cord thingy and headed for home. We were excited because it had been raining earlier and we were worried about the furniture getting wet. When we set out for home there was not a cloud in the sky and not a hint of wind. Perfect for transporting furniture. And then the unthinkable happened. A huge gust of wind came out of nowhere and blew not one, but two, chairs into the table legs. This was the result. At this point I was resigned to just upholster the backs and call it done. However, The Hubs had a different idea.

He decided to repair the cane backs. I have to say that he did a wonderful job! Now the sad little chairs with the holes in them are the belle of the ball. The cane matches perfectly, it’s nice and super tight. They look brand new!

Once The Hubs work was done, it was my turn. At first, I wanted to stain the top and paint the apron and legs of the table. However, I quickly realized that the table needed so much work that staining it wouldn’t be possible. 

Y’all have seen my blue desk, if not your can see it here. I painted it with General Finishes Milk Paint in Klien Blue. I loved how the paint glided on, had great coverage and had no brush lines. So I decided to use the same paint in Snow White.

Now here’s where it all gets crazy. I sanded, applied putty, and painted and painted and painted! This is a chair which has three coats on it. It’s streaky and still shows the original finish through it. To make matters worse, because I was starting to put so much paint on it, it was quickly becoming a hot mess. It just wasn’t working as well on these pieces as it did on my blue desk.

I finally waved the white flag and pulled out my cabinet and trim paint. This paint is from Ace Hardware and I’ve used it for my trim paint in my last house and in the new one. I figured if it were good enough for the trim, it would work on the table! I gave all six chairs and the table a couple of quick coats and called it good.

Now that all the painting was done, it was time to reupholster the chair seats. I have been going back and forth on what colors I want to use in the kitchen/dining rooms. Do I want to use black with pops of bright colors like I have in my last couple of houses? OR do I want to go with blues to match my living area? The struggle is real my friends. Since I couldn’t wait until I made up my mind to reupholster the chairs, I decided to go with a neutral. I love the look of this faux linen material and knew it would be perfect for the new chair seats.

I love how it all turned out! The size of the table and chairs is perfect for the space. The only down side? Now the rest of the room is screaming for a little face lift too. If you give a mouse a cookie…

Until next time…..