Dining table and chairs makeover

When we first bought this house and moved in, we decided we needed a new dining table. But we didn't want to pay a lot, so we found a solid wood table and 4 chairs on Craigslist for $100. It had seen better days, but we were all hyped up on DIY everything, so we figured we could make it look nice again! But after project upon project, it got put on the back burner.

This last week, my dear friend Amy and I made plans to hang out. We went to coffee and she asked if I had any projects I was working on for the house. The only thing we were currently working on was painting the exterior. Yuck. Although I'd been wanting to get to work on this table all summer, so I mentioned that to her. She immediately told me she'd come help!

The table is just a simple table, although the legs have a few little design features. And the chairs are typical Windsor chairs with spindle things in the back. I'd been checking out Pinterest and saw a few things I liked.

I really liked the look of this from DIYdesign

But after imagining for 5 seconds how I would paint the spindly back a different color than the seat without getting both colors everywhere, I decided that would be too much work.

So solid colored chairs it would have to be. Then I saw some other ideas.

Country Girl Home did her table like the one above, but then just painted her chairs all white. Classy!

Paddington Way did her table all white, and then her chairs a solid pretty green.

 

So many choices! I really loved the look of the first two tables, and figured that colored chairs would still look nice with a white/wood table, so that's what I decided on. Our dining room could use a little pop of color, so I knew the colorful chairs would be a great addition.

Next up I had to buy the materials! I wanted to do this the easiest way possible, so I decided to use spray paint! I wanted the table legs to be white, but not too white, so I found Valspar's Riviera Dune. I was a little afraid it would be too sand-colored (since it is called "dune"), but it ended up being perfect! First we wiped the table legs down with a liquid sander/de-glosser, then I laid the table on its top and Amy and I got to work spraying the legs. It took about 3 cans to get the legs evenly covered.

Then we moved on to the chairs. I love the green color in that last picture, but I couldn't quite find anything like that at Lowe's (and was too lazy to check Home Depot). Amy found a nice light Tiffany-ish blue that we tried out and I really love it. It was Valspar's La Fonda Mirage. It took 5 cans to get all four chairs covered evenly. After everything dried, I sprayed the chairs and table legs with a clear glossy coat of spray paint.

Now it was time for the table top! I wanted it to be a warm, natural, rustic-looking color. But there is no one stain that was quite what I was looking for. When I did my wooden crates for our entry way, I used vinegar and steel wool to age them, kind of a gray. Then I added a warm brown wax on top.

But I wanted to make sure this would last so I wanted to use stain. I found Rustoleum Weathered Gray wood stain, and figured that would be a good base coat similar to the vinegar/steel wool solution. Then I decided to try putting Rustoleum Dark Walnut on top of that. I was a little nervous as I wasn't sure how they would work together, But I sanded the table top, then just got started! First was the coat of Weathered Gray. It went on really opaque, which surprised me, and worried me a little. But after it dried, I actually liked it! Ben and I debated just leaving it like that, but I wanted it a little warmer.

After an hour, I put on a coat of the Dark Walnut, and it was so very perfect! Just the color I was hoping for! I still need to put a clear protective coat of Polycrilic on it, But I am so in love! And it really was quite easy!

On to the kitchen!

We have been super busy in our little bungalow! First we rebuilt the front porch. Then painted every wall in sight. Then replaced windows and the front door, put up some board and batten in the living room, installed new light fixtures, put in new carpet, rebuilt a closet and tore another one out. The list goes on. But now and then we would do a little something or other in the kitchen.

This kitchen. Ay yi yi. I've always really liked cooking (mostly just because I like eating). But when we moved in here, I could hardly make myself go into the kitchen to cook. It was a dark, depressing, hole of a kitchen. I didn't have much hope for it. Dark, grimy cabinets, a dropped ceiling with a fluorescent light, a window with awful trim (the casing didn't even meet up with the window-there was a good two inches between where the casing stopped and where the window started. So you could see all the spray foam they poured in the gaps), old appliances. It was terrible. But I had grand ideas for it, thanks to Pinterest, even though I wasn't sure most of them would work out.

Let's start at the beginning. Pretty much the very first thing we did after getting the keys (after discovering the burst pipe in the crawlspace...) was rip out the ceiling tiles in the kitchen. Whyyyyy would someone do that?? There are so many things about this house that we will never understand.

Oh, the cobwebs. And the grime. And the wiring weirdness and dust and just overall ugliness. I tried to clean the ceiling. I tried to prime it. But after who knows how many years of grease and bugs up there, it was just too nasty. So I made other plans. But in the meantime, we got a new light fixture! It was beauuutiful. One of our few splurges on the house. (The front door and the bathroom fan/light fixture being other splurges). We used a 10% off coupon at Lowe's to get the beautiful Allen + Roth fixture for $179 and Ben got to work installing it. Which was quite a headache and we went for quite a while with no light in there! The old light was hooked up to an outlet, and other things were wired in through there too. So there were extra wires we couldn't figure out what to do with, but my handy hubby didn't give up and he figured it out! And then he turned it on and I heard angels singing!!

The ceiling was still disgusting. The cabinets were still dark and grimy. The hood vent ductwork was still exposed. But I had a new light. A gorgeous, vintage-looking, lovely new light. I still didn't want to be in the kitchen very much. But I had one good thing in there to focus on! 

Now about the light. It is beautiful. I love it so very much. The thing is, those bulbs aren't very bright. It's not really intended to be the main light fixture in a room, and I had read reviews that it wasn't very bright, but I wanted it anyway! I looks amazing, and in our tiny 9x10 kitchen with 2 windows, it is fine. Later on, I did put some under cabinet lights in to help in the evenings when it is darker in there, but even without them it was fine! I still am in love with it although I would love to find some brighter yet still pretty bulbs!

So this was the first of many projects in the kitchen. This was maybe 4 months after getting the keys, and another 8+ months later we just finished the bulk of the work in the kitchen (besides the expensive things like putting in a dishwasher, redoing countertops, new appliances, etc.). And look at it now! Much more to come!

Total spent on new kitchen lighting: $179