Old Table Refinishing #2

These are my little felt birds ... too adorable not to have a close up! I found them at Crate & Barrel and I used them as part of my table centerpiece during the holidays. The rustic pieces of wood I gathered from the backyard during the fall along with a big bag of twigs. I think my family thought I was nuts, but all you creative people out there understand I'm sure. Now, on to the reason for this post:

An update on the dining table makeover!

I had big plans to finish the whole thing by Boxing Day (in time for a huge family dinner) as you can read about here, but the legs never made it (sigh!). I was pleasantly surprised, however, at how the top turned out; no painting it for me! I love the rustic look that the table top has: all its' nicks and groves. We figured there hadn't been a big Christmas dinner around the table in over 30 years.

So here is a picture of the table before (leaves missing and all):

And this is what it looks like now:

The legs desperately need attention, so before my Valentine's Day guests arrive, I swear I will have them done ... I hope - and a picture to boot!

Old Table Refinishing #1

This is my "new" dining table which I absolutely love (even in its' current state). What makes it even more special is that it belonged to my great-grandfather, so it is a piece of family history - yay me! Trying to convince my significant other that "it is special" is another matter however. He sees what is right in front of him and not "the vision" that is in MY head.

I love mixing the old with the new, thus the black leather parsons chairs with the old style table. I certainly won't convince most people that it works together, but I have given up on the "let's please everyone" and focused on the "if I like it, then it works!" mantra.

The leaves are currently being stripped of their layers and layers of varnish and I am still trying to figure out how to get out the green blotch of dye out on the far corner as sanding it would mean taking up too much of the table surface there. My other dilemma is whether it should be painted or not. I love the natural wood look, but it has seen MANY better days and the loads of varnish that have built up on the legs would take hours and hours to remove ... so here it sits, waiting that "moment" of inspiration that really needs to come quickly as we are hosting 22 people for Christmas dinner in a few days! Yikes! More pictures to come soon!