Our Kitchen Table

For years, I have dreamed of finding a very old wooden kitchen table and refinishing it. Having refinished several pieces of furniture, I felt ready to tackle a kitchen table.

I found this pedestal clawfoot table from the 1800s at a thrift store in North Wilkesboro. From the 1800s! Instantly, I began to picture a whole "life" this table had. Another family must have made memories around this table. Maybe a little girl did homework there every day? Maybe there were long family dinners eaten at this table? I had to have it!

Since I had a significant amount of time off from work for Fourth of July, I decided that would be the best time to tackle this project. I wanted it to be white (a true white) so I decided to sand, prime, and paint with latex paint.

I put one coat of primer on and a large stain worked it's way through the primer. I put on another coat, thinking it just absorbed the stain the previous owner had given it. Again, this stain appeared through the primer....only this time there were ripples in the wood. I poked one of the ripples and a piece of wood flaked off....followed by more and more pieces. I realized this whole spot was just bad wood and had to literally dig it out with a putty knife.

There was a giant hole in the top. I felt sick. How was I going to break it to my husband that he had wasted a whole Saturday driving more than an hour away to get this thing? Do I get rid of it and pretend some thief with French country style stole it out of our garage overnight??

I had to fix it. Then it hit me-wood filler! I got Minwax Wood Filler and filled the HUGE spot in, and thankfully, after a TON of sanding it worked. I applied another coat of paint and sealed it. Once I got it inside, I decided it needed to have a more warm, worn look to it. So, AGAIN, I repainted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Paris Grey with Old White on top. I then sanded the edges and put two coats of furniture wax on to seal it.

FINALLY....it's done. It's in the kitchen, and even though the table and I got off to a rocky start, it's ready to get new memories in its "life" with our family.