Kitchen Table Redo: Part One

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In December, my husband Doug and I gathered up our furry family and moved from a tiny 800 sq. ft. house into a much larger house. The transition has been an easy one and I was able to find good homes for all of our things in the new found space. However, there remains a great many things that we did not need or want at our previous residence, mostly do to lack of space, that are becoming obvious areas of home improvement. The new dining room is the most evident example and the most glaringly empty space in need of some help. Which is why I have chosen this as my first project.

The dining room as it currently is. Also meet Euler (left) and
Professor Farnsworth, or Farns for short (Right)
Since the move I have been scouring Craigslist for a cheap table and chairs. Yesterday I got lucky and finally found a table and six chairs.They are in terrible shape, which the prior owners attributed to their teenage daughter and her friends. There are many scratches on both the table and the chairs, two of the chairs are missing one of their back posts, and they are covered in paint and oil drops. With that said, the foundation is great and I have high hopes for what they will look like when I get finished with them.

My new table that is in need of some tender love and care.
One of the chairs that is missing a back post.

An example of the scratches.





























I plan to post this project is three posts, and will post the entire project in tutorial form once it is complete. Here it goes.

And So It Begins:

After spending only about 30 minutes on Pinterest looking for a good tutorial or two to follow, I actually came across a couple that I thought really gave me the information I was looking for. First, I have always wanted an all black dining set, but was not really sure if it would turn out. Then I stumbled upon Pink Toes and Power Tools and got the inspiration I needed. Her dining room set is very similar to the one I just purchased and I was able to see how awesome it would be! Second, because I do not own a sander, nor do I see any need to purchase one, I decided to follow the advice of Bless This Mess and use the non-sanding approach to redoing furniture. I am very grateful for this, because let me tell you, sanding furniture is a pain in the arse. I helped my father redo his dresser last summer and I swore I would never do that part again.

So today Doug and I set out to purchase the necessary equipment at Home Depot. Since we did not have any of it, our purchase was a bit more expensive that I would have liked, but I can reuse all of it on future projects I have planned. The following was what we purchased based on Bless this Mess's tutorial and our specific needs.
  1. Zinsser Cover Stain Oil Based Primer - $9
  2. Two medium grit sanding blocks - $7
  3. Minwax water-based Polycrylic - $18
  4. Paint - $9
  5. Gorilla Wood Glue - $5
  6. Three paint brushes - $15
  7. Dust/paint fume masks - $3
Total $66

Again, this was a bit higher than anticipated, but we did not have any of the materials. When I begin my next project, however, the cost will not be nearly as high. Woot!

Next, Doug and I decided to dive right into the painting part of the project first, and worry about the two chairs that are missing their back posts later. We spent about an hour and a half lightly, and I mean very lightly, sanding the every inch of the table and all six chairs. This took a bit longer than expected because we had to clean up some of the scratches and paint droppings.

The table after the cover stain had been applied.
We then busted out the Zinsser Cover Stain. According to Bless this Mess and pretty much every other no sanding furniture redo project tutorial I came across, the cover stain allows you to paint furniture without sanding. It seems wonderful and I hope it works as well as everyone says!

It took about three more hours, with both of us painting, to do two coats of the Zinsser Cover Stain on the table and one coat on each of the six chairs. The cover stain goes on easily though and dries quickly too. So far, so good.

The table and six chairs with the cover stain.
They already look better.
I also discovered that I really enjoy painting. Those three hours were easy labor to me, probably because I found the painting to be relaxing. I think I was the only one though, Doug does not share my enthusiasm.

I think the table is off to a great start! They already look a ton better and I cannot wait to apply the black paint tomorrow!!

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