Refinished kitchen table; French country style

This was my most labor intensive project. My husband and I had purchased this kitchen set from our landlord while living in El Paso. We only paid $100 for the whole set. This is the only good before photo that I have.

The table and chairs are probably from the 90's. The point is they were outdated and dirty looking. I wanted a new kitchen set but I really liked the one that we had. So while my parents came down from PA to visit for Thanksgiving we went to work! I had originally planned on staining the chairs with a black stain. Once I started sanding the chairs, I realized that it was going to be a bigger project then I had planned. So I scratched that idea and decided that I would paint instead of stain. As I mentioned in an earlier post, when staining, the wood MUST be stripped down bare or you'll have an uneven tacky stain job; when painting, you only need to strip off most of the top coat. Primer is super important when painting because it gives the paint something to stick on to. You do not need to prime when staining but some people still prefer to do so with a wood stain primer.

 These are the chairs with primer on them. As  you can see, they are not stripped down all of the way (again, because I am only painting the chairs and not staining.)

 Here is my dad painting the chairs with a high gloss paint (not spray paint this time.)

While you do not have to prime before staining, I did take a wet rag and lightly wet the table that was completely sanded down. This opens up the pores and allows the wood to better absorb the stain. Remember, you want to lightly wet and not soak the surface.

 To apply the stain I took a rag and dipped it into the stain and rubbed it all over the table. Less is more in this situation. A little bit of stain really goes a long way. You still want to be able to see the grain in the wood. After the first coat I applied probably two more. Then I used a polyurethane for the top coat. I recommend using a quality brush for this. We applied several coats of poly. I also suggest sanding with a finishing grit paper in between each coat of poly. Doing so removes any bubbles and smooths out the entire surface.

 This is after the first coat of poly. 

Here is the end result in my kitchen. We did have to unscrew the table top in order to fit back in the house. 

After a little bit of work (actually a lot of bit) we now have a French country kitchen table set!

Thanks for checking out my blog and please check back every Friday for a new post.

-And remember, anyone can DIY. You just have to be willing to give it a try!