DIY Projects

The Adventure Begins...And is still going!

Dresser Redo Pallet Wall












When my husband and I first were married, we lived in a small apartment for our first year. We didn't have a lot of money to do a lot of decorating and our furniture was a mixture of college leftovers and hand me downs. There was one piece that we did have that was a nicer piece of furniture - our dining room table. I had purchased it at KMart for a whopping $60 on clearance. You may say, "What kind of furniture could you have bought at KMart that could be considered a quality piece of furniture?" I say a solid Oak table with heavy legs. The only problem I had with it was its light blonde wood color. I wanted it to be darker. So ensued my first (and my husbands) adventures in refinishing furniture. Let's say we learned a lot during this little adventure.

The first tool we bought was a SANDER. We were under the impression that every piece of wood that needed to be refinished needed to be sanded. So, with little to no knowledge of how to do this, we tackled the top of the table with the sander. This was way before I did research before starting a project. I just wanted the table to be darker and it was going to be darker!!

Well, we propped the table top (after removing the legs) against the railing of our tiny apartment balcony and got started. We sanded and sanded again. We wanted a SMOOTH surface after all - right? After sanding as much as we thought we could, we decided to begin with the stain. So, with little space on the balcony, we brought the tabletop back inside and began the staining process. It didn't take me long to realize that we took the sanding a little too far. The table was not sanded evenly so it wasn't accepting the stain evenly. Needless to say, after completing the new and "improved" stain, the table was splotchy. Since I am impatient by nature, I said it would just have to look aged like we had done this on purpose. I took to the table with sandpaper and rubbed the stain out in places to get that aged look.

To this day, that very same table sits in our kitchen eating area with its uneven stain and its "aged" spots. Am I happy with it you might ask? Well, the answer would be yes. After years of looking at it sitting in our kitchen and being moved from one apartment to another and then our first home, I think it has earned its spot. Around its edges sit four woven back chairs that we bought unfinished and stained to match. The seats of these chairs were also another first for me- I covered them with batting and fabric. I eventually want to have my husband help me build a bench to sit along one side so that we will have enough seating with just the four chairs, but that is on my To Do list for now.

When I locate the pictures of this table and chair redo, I will be posting them. Stay tuned for those pictures and pictures of my most recent dresser redo (which I did plenty of research for before beginning).

Update: First Ever Furniture Redo

No comments: