Tabletop Fix

Sitting at the kitchen table the other morning I started to obsess over the scratches that had been accumulating on it over the years.
There were the little ones.....and then there were some really big ones!

You know....the kind that the placemats don't hide....so you start using a tablecloth to cover the whole thing.  I suppose one could pretend that the whole distressed furniture thing was ON PURPOSE and get on with life.....

Or it was time to do something!
But....WHAT to do?

Should we start looking for a new set for this space?  Seriously....NOT!  It took over a year to decide on this set and it is a great size, shape and look for the room!

Should it get a coat of paint?  That sounded okay.....until it came to trying to figure out what color and if the whole table should be one color.  Right now the tabletop is stained wood and the legs and chairs are a distressed sage green. 

I decided that what I really wanted was the SAME table top without the scratches!
That meant sanding, lots and lots of sanding!
That meant staining which meant mixing and testing until the color was just right!
That meant not one or two but FOUR coats of Poly for the hard and shiny finish that can stand up to our wear and tear!!

I did it!

It worked!

I am PROUD!

My table looks great!

But this POST IS NOT a tutorial for refinishing wooden furniture!
If you need a tutorial....GOOGLE IT....or Check out this Link from the folks at HGTV who are far more expert than little old ME!

This POST IS about having a can do attitude about taking on a project to fix what you already have.

I WASTED a lot of time "bemoaning" the scratches on the table. 
Once I got to work it only took:

• The four hours of sanding....
• The two hours of staining....
• The 15 minute coats of Poly times 4....

All told, just a total of 7 hours of work plus wait time and now instead of "bemoaning" I can celebrate my "just like new" shiny table!

There were some costs involved....all that sanding meant lots of sandpaper!
At one point Mr. S decided to put his muscles behind the sander and oops....one sander overheated and started smoking!

There was some walnut stain and some thinner on the basement shelf so that did not need to be purchased.

We did need some new Poly and I was thrilled with the quality of this stuff that cleans up with water.

Other than the need to buy a new sander.....the total cost of the project was in the range of $25.
The table was out of commission for about 5 days,

The skill level of the project was pretty basic.
The real skill was the ability to just get on with it!

The finished product is JUST what I wanted.... the SAME table top without the scratches!

OOHHH!  Look how shiny and new it looks!

Here's to making do.....and getting what you want in the bargain!

Have A Wonderful Day!