The Good-As-New Side Table

We finished the table!  And we are quite pleased with it.  The most challenging step was trying to keep the bubbles out of the varnish.

Refinishing furniture is definitely worth the time and effort. Is the table perfect?  Not really if we are being honest.  But we like it and imperfections add character, give it a story.

 I think we will be keeping this little table as part of our furnishings for the long haul.  Much more than I could say about something we would have been able to buy as new for the same amount of money.

 Now to work on that chair that has been waiting to be freshened up for six months... 

Sanding and Staining and Waiting

The table project has taken a wee bit longer than anticipated.  Weekends have been packed so there were many days in between each step. 

    

    

But it is starting to look pretty good!   

Stripping on Sunday

This past Sunday Dan and I woke up bright and early, grabbed some coffee, and drove out to Portage Indiana to buy a side table.  We have been needing a side table for the living room and so I checked out what was on Craigslist,  you know to be earth-friendly and all by giving a table a second life (not just cheap!).  I forgot to filter for only the city and this listing for a mid-century table that had very pretty lines and form caught my eye.  It was made of real wood.  It was a hefty distance away in Indiana.

So then for two weeks we went back and forth; me wanting to get this table which was inexpensive and paint it white to freshen it up and Dan wanting to just get a new table that would not require yet another project.  The money argument won.

So back to driving all the way out there... it was quite the hike.  When we arrived and Dan saw the table he gave me the look of, "really?"  But I didn't budge.  Fresh paint solves all and I promised to just do this project myself.  On the way back into the city I called my mom for tips on stripping wood and we stopped at home depot to get the necessary supplies (along with a few pansies).

Then we found ourselves spending a Sunday afternoon stripping.

And while Daniel was not interested in another project, he was way to curious to sit this one out.

I am seriously glad that no one else snagged this little table before we got it.  It is stamped by Drexel and is solid walnut.  Underneath that scratched and crazing varnish is beautiful wood.  Now I am feeling major apprehension on painting, this is a table that should be varnished a pretty rich color. 

Lessons learned for when stripping:

 - have a metal bowl to put the stripper in for application

 - have chemical resistant gloves

 - always go with the grain

 - allow the stripper goop to sit on the finish long enough

And never judge a book by a cover...