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| Refinished with a pretty table setting. |
Last weekend was very warm. I think it hit 70 degrees, which is surprising for Michigan in November. But I took advantage of the warm weather and took the top of our table out to the shed to strip the finish from it and start refinishing it.
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| Unfinished table in the dining area of our kitchen |
Once we set it up in the dining area of our kitchen, we knew we didn’t want to move our old oak table back in. The “new” old mahogany table, which turns out to actually be cherry, just fit the room so much better. It was as though it had been made the space. The more we looked at it in the room, the more we loved it. We kept looking at it, and we kept saying to each other how nice it look and how happy we were with it.
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| Unfinished table with the chairs that go with our oak table. |
Unfortunately, it really couldn’t be used the way it was. The previous owners had partially stripped the top, which left it vulnerable to damage from spills and anything else that might get on it. That’s why when the weather turned warm, I decided to refinish the top…then later this spring, when the weather gets warm again, I’ll refinish the rest, but in the meantime, we’re able to use it and enjoy it.
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| Oak table shoved in the corner, blocking my desk and the front entrance. |
During all this time, our oak table was shoved in the corner of the living room, not exactly in the way, but definitely taking up space and making life a little more crowded. My plan was to list it on Craigslist after I finished the other table, because we were still squishing in to eat dinner on it. Which is exactly what I did. I posted it on Wednesday morning, and within an hour, someone emailed me wanting to buy it. She sent her mom to look at it, and less than three hours after I posted it, it was sold along with the four chairs that went with it.
I have to say, I was kind of sad to sell it. I had been a gift from my parents, but even my mom thought we should sell it. Having her blessing made it a lot easier. Still, I felt a little nostalgic when the people drove away with it, because I had had it for 16 years.
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| The table refinished with the heavier chairs. |
After we sold the table, we drove up to my mom and dad’s to get our other chairs…the ones that went with Jim’s old dining set. These chairs looked so much better with the table than our old oak chairs did. The oak chairs were just a little too contemporary and delicate looking for the table. But these chairs blend with all the other furniture nicely, or at least they will once we paint them. I think I’ll paint them white, but I’m also thinking about green just just to bring in a little more color into the room. I guess I have a bit of time to figure that out though!
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| Sitting pretty and ready for company! |
Doesn’t it look nice?