We, too, are a small family, and we had an equally small kitchen table. It barely worked for us, and did not suffice at all, when friends/family came for dinner. However, it was gifted to my DH by his grandmother. It was her table, when he was growing up. So, naturally, there is a lot of emotional value to the table. As much as we loved the table, we had come to the decision recently that we were simply going to have to but a larger table. Upon looking at what was offered in the stores, and not wanting to pay that kind of money, for something that was lacking, we decided to return to a somewhat local business, Whitacre's, where we had previously purchased our bed. While we knew we would once again be getting a quality product, we weren't looking forward to the price tag that we knew would come along with it.
That was when Leah posted about her table. I decided then and there to pray to G-d, and ask Him to lead me to a table, if it was His will.
Two weeks ago, a family on the block over from us decided to hold a garage sale. This in itself, is unusual. The village we live in is only 1100 people, and very rural. Due to that, twice a year we hold community wide garage sales. In the spring and the autumn...in the 5+ years since we have lived here, I have never seen someone hold a garage sale during any other time.
At the time, wee one had a "job" taking care of a friend's dog during lunch time. It was wee one's responsibility to let the puppy out to potty, give the puppy fresh water, and play with him for a bit. Once we got done with that, we would drive around town once, and then come home. On this day, though, was the garage sale. So we stopped. Why? Because they had a large table with 6 chairs, for sale!
Upon walking up to it, I knew it would need a lot of work. I also knew I simply was not willing to pay what she was asking for it. After some bargaining, I got her down to...
$32.50!!!
So you ask, what did I get for that measly amount of cash?
This mess! However, I knew it had potential, so I bought it. DH was less than thrilled. Here's a close up of the top...it doesn't even begin to show the bad condition of the table!
What were we going to have to work with? Was it going to be worth our time and effort? Well, imagine our surprise when we got it stripped, and discovered it was solid oak!
I was pretty excited at this point, but DH has no vision. So, trudge on we did. This is after it was completely stripped, and DH began sanding it:
Look at the grain!
This is a picture of the table, and one of the trestles, completely sanded:
And here is a close up of the table top, sanded:
I hemmed and hawed for a few days over the stain color, and ultimately we went with this...here's DH just beginning to stain the table:
In this picture, you can see the contrast of color between the stain, and the raw, sanded wood:
This is a long shot of the table, completely stained. The actual size of the table is 92x48.
And here are two close ups of the grain, after staining:
Second grain pic:
The table is absolutely gorgeous! We have now completed the table, having put on 3 coats of polyurethane. It is now residing in the kitchen...what a HUGE difference! I have a couple of pictures of it, but I need to upload and resize them...but I promise to post pics of it soon! In the meantime, here are a couple pictures of the chairs. We still need to finish these. A lot of detail, though, so they will take awhile.
This shows how bad the varnish was...see how it is bubbled up? Yech!
In this picture, I have one completely stripped chair (not sanded), next to a chair in the condition we purchased them in:
They will take so much work...but when they are done, they will be equally as gorgeous as the table is!
So...I have to ask...what do you think of my $32.50 table set?
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