Refinished Family Farm Style Dining Table

Welcome to my blog!  I'm glad you are back for a visit and welcome if you are visiting for the first time.  Today I'm sharing our refinished dining table that I did with a 'farm style' finish in mind.

I bought this table from a friend many years ago now and had been storing it with the intention of refinishing it.  We had not yet purchased our home yet and were not sure if the home we bought would have room for this style of table.  It's the large square table, but not the bistro height they make many of them like today.  It's the standard height dining table.

Here is the before of picture of what I was working with.

I knew I wanted the white legs and the stained dark top but...... I really hate to sand.  So, I started with these products knowing they would help eliminate SOME of the sanding!  Here are a few links for you to research the product a little further or even purchase the item and have it shipped directly to you from Amazon.  With three kids at home, I have fallen in love with Amazon Prime.  It ships in 2 days directly to my home with no shipping charges for many products!  That's a win win around here!

Dark Walnut Varathane

Polyurethane - Satin Finish 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Pure White

But to get the stained top, I was going to have to sand it as much as I don't care for it.  It doesn't bother me as much when it's a flat top surface like on a table top.  And I recruited my amazing husband to assist with the sanding.

 

Once the top was sanded completely to the bare wood, we cleaned it with a moist paper towel and let it dry.  I stained the top with 2 coats of the Dark Walnut Stain and 2 coats of the Satin finish Polyurethane.  I then painted a few coats of the chalk paint on the lower half of the table using a clear furniture wax to seal it.

The chairs, were a different story.  I will be honest, because I didn't mind a shabby chic look to the chairs, I didn't sand OR use chalk paint.  I spray painted them all white and then sanded the edges that would wear anyway because I didn't sand them. But the white was a near match to the chalk paint so I don't know that anyone can tell the difference.

You will notice I also recovered the seats.  This was done with some leftover fabric my mom had and offered to share.  The fabric is thick enough to stand up to normal wear and tear but not so thick that it was hard to work with.   I removed the seat cushions by unscrewing them from the chair frame, cut fabric to fit and then used a staple gun on the underside to attached the fabric.  I recovered it right over the existing fabric since it was a similar texture and light color that would not show through. 

Here's how it turned out!  Some of the shots below show it with the leaf and without the leaf. 

I have some rattan chairs I have added as the head chairs to the table to give it some additional interest and texture. I really love the style of this table now that it's all done.   And there is plenty of room for our family of five, plus a couple extras if we add more chairs!

Let me know your thoughts too and please feel free to ask any questions!  DIY is always providing new products and ways of doing things so I love to hear all about what you have learned too!  Maybe I can try your techniques on my next project.