Summary of March and April

The last two months of my life were spent attempting a huge project of refinishing 8 chairs and 3 tables.  Call me crazy...everyone else already has.  I didn't know how much work refinishing furniture could be...especially because Pinterest made it look so easy.  I wish I would have taken before and after pictures to share, but unfortunately I only have the after math.

My brother Tyler was suppose to be getting married in April, so when March came around I decided it was time to get his wedding present ready.  I offered him and his fiance my table and I told them I would refinish it anyway they wanted it.  His fiance decided to go with the shabby chic look so I did the legs and top in ivory.  If anyone had seen the table before, you know that it SHOULD have been an easy project.  The original table was one of the pine rectangle tables from Shopko and came with 4 apron chairs (yes I have learned the names of different styles of furniture as of late).  It was suppose to be a light honey color, but after twelve years and a family of 6 it had a few dings and blemishes to its name.  On top of being used as a dinner table for 12 years, the last year of its life (in my parents home) it was used as a wood shop table in my dads unfinished basement.  When Jarom and I moved to Texas for Military training, my parents offered the table to us.  I was more than happy to take it off their hands, seeing as to how we hadn't gotten around to purchasing our own table in our 8 months of marriage.  Long story short, Jarom and I treated the table as well as we could...moved it to Texas, moved it back to Utah, moved it to two different apartments,...we added to the dents and dings.  I still loved the table, but it needed a makeover.

It took me two days to refinish Tyler's table.  After sanding, priming, painting and varnishing the damn thing...it was moved to Logan and two very unconcerned men loaded it into a moving trailer and scratched the hell out of it... Excuse the language, but after all that work, I was less then happy to see a big chunk of paint taken out of the top, and a large red streak across the top of it.  Tyler said it still looked fine and he would mend it as needed.  After you put so much time and effort into something, you tend to bond with it.  You don't want someone else stepping in to care for it, but I did my best to let it go.  Less than 3 weeks later, Tyler's engagement was called off and the table was once again moved.  It didn't fair so well on the way back, but it was decided that it couldn't remain Ivory anyway...so refinishing it a second time was necessary.  I felt like I had already put so much effort into it.  I didn't even ask what colors Tyler wanted it.  I  used all the materials I had purchased for two other tables that needed refinishing.  The top ended up being stained black and the legs were painted gray.  It looked masculine and amazing!  So much better then the original refinished job.  I wasn't going to chance moving the table again, so now it sits, unused, in my parents basement.  Lucky for the table, the basement is now finished so it won't be used as a wood-shop table.

I was finally able to start on the chairs and table for our apartment.  I was so excited to have 8 new matching chairs and a table that, after putting it all together, was warped, cracked and not just ugly, but fugly.  I thought it would make a great starting project, and in the end it turned out amazing.  Wood glue, sanding, and a husband with some amazing self taught shop skills....I had a hard time giving the once fugly table away. Yes, you heard it right....I gave the table away to one of the most deserving families I know.  While in the process of prepping the chairs, I was still in a KSL search mode, and I ran across the PERFECT table for our home.  When I say perfect, I mean the shape and size were amazing, but the color and condition needed some help.  ANOTHER refinishing project.  The tables were easy to refinish...it was the blasted chairs that made me want to rip my hair out.  Many weeks of extremely time consuming work paid off.  We have in our apartment today a beautiful table and 8 matching chairs.

Exhausted, but well worth it.  Next time I decide to refinish chairs, someone please break my hands and remind me how much work it was.  I now know why chairs are the most expensive part of a dining room set.

 This would be my beautiful finished table.  Black stained top and gray legs and apron.

Talk about heavy duty chairs....these beasts are not only heavy, but they are put together so that they will never come apart.  We wonder if they came from a restaurant because there was gum all over the bottom of each chair.  It took me a few hours to scrape it off...and there are still a few pieces here and there.

 This was the warped, cracked and ugly table that came with the 8 chairs.  The great thing about this table is that it had the capability of seating at least 12 people.  It had two leaves.  The downfall...no support system in the middle and that is likely why it was warped.  The table was originally light gray stain (watered down paint) on the top, and the legs were dark gray with a brown and black antique look to them.  The leafs were all different shades of gray because they weren't finished together...drives me crazy when people don't do things the way they should be done.

 Tylers table is in the back ground.  I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the final project...probably because I was tired of working on it after two times of refinishing it.  The table in the front is the warped cracked one after much tender love and repair.  I made the legs an off white and fell in love with it.

Off white legs and a stained black top...classic I don't know why stores don't sell tables in this color scheme. 

 These are the chairs that my darling mother-in-law gave me last year.  She picked 3 of them up at a garage sell for $5.00....All three for $5.00...she is amazing at getting good buys.  After receiving them, I re-upholstered the seats to match my chef decor.  They looked fantastic, but they weren't the quietest of chairs.  In fact, every time I sat in one, the noise would rub my nerves raw until I felt like running and screaming out the front door.  Now they belong to the same family that I gave the lovely table to.

I think I mentioned I was busy this year...this wasn't even the start of it.