Dear friends, it has been so, so long since I’ve posted anything…ugh! I’m so disappointed in myself but believe me when I say tons of stuff has been happening around here. We’ve done major renos to our master bedroom. I will have lots around that project. I’ve also been dealing with annoying health issues that have slowed me down a bit. I have not even logged onto WordPress to read blogs that I follow! Let’s see, what else? Oh, I had a lovely trip to Croatia in August to celebrate my parents’ 50th anniversary and I adopted a senior siberian husky. Our resident dog (Shayla), also a siberian, is 11 years old and is taking some time to adjust to having a “new guy” around. My youngest has gone off to university and left Mr. and I with an empty nest. Life has been crazy but wonderful.
This is the story of a tired oak dining room set. My old high school friend Connie posted a pic on Facebook asking if anyone knew someone that would be able to stain her dining room a darker colour. I suggested she could DIY this and I’d help her but I ended up taking on the project. I am so happy that I was able to transform this set. Older pieces are so worth saving. You simply cannot buy this quality today in any of the big box stores. High end? Maybe, but who wants to spend tons of money on furniture. A nice vacation sounds better to me.
Connie is just as funny as I remember her from all those years ago. I am so glad we connected again. Who knew that a DIY project could bring people together this way. She would not let me include a picture of her in this post but believe me, she is just as pretty and fun and funny as I remember. You know that one friend who is a little bit wild and and crazy (in a good way)? That’s her.
Here’s the set before.
I started by giving everything a light sanding to rough it up a bit so that the General Finishes Java Gel Stain would adhere properly.
As well as some filling in where the veneer on the sides was starting to peel. Incidentally, finding veneer on vintage or antique pieces is very common and not an indicator of poor craftsmanship.
After one coat, looking pretty splotchy. This is quite normal.
I was done. Four coats in total and then I noticed something.
I hadn’t seen them when I was looking straight on but there were what appeared to be “bubbles” on the surface of the table. Argh! My level of frustration! I felt sooooo bad. I knew there was no way I could leave it like this. What was the cause? I’ve done countless projects with stain before. I couldn’t really “feel” anything with my fingers but it didn’t look right. It could only be from previously water damage.
I had two choices. Leave as is or sand down to bare wood and redo the whole table. Option 1 was a definite no. There was no way I could hand this back to her in this condition. I asked myself would I use this table the way it looked in my own home? Absolutely not…so I sanded. And sanded. And sanded. I was afraid that the top layer was actually veneer and worried I might strip off too much. Here it is during the sanding process.
Looking much better. The spots are disappearing.
Went on to apply about 4 or 5 coats of stain and top coat. Here’s the finished project.
I love how it turned out and absolutely adore the new chairs she picked out. Check out her flooring too! It’s pretty cool. On a side note, I worked on this in October and while it had been fairly warm, I was applying the top coat on the table during a bit of a cold spell. I noticed a bit of a cloudy appearance in some spots from the top coat. I know that this is from temperature change so if it’s not looking the best, I’ll go back in the spring and touch that part up if necessary.
For now I look forward to enjoying a few drinks and some laughs with an old friend. Thank you Connie for putting your faith in me. I like wine. Red wine. 😉
Restyle4Life 
Good to hear from you again!!! Sounds like your life has been full.
Wonderful job on the table and china hutch. 🙂 -Karen
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Thanks Karen! Yes, life has been pretty full!
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Lovely to get your post. I had wondered where you had disappeared to and now I know. You are amazing with your furniture restorations. It must be a passion as you appear to find the energy for it. Well done, a great transformation. Thanks for an update too and hope you are feeling better.
At Rude Record we have gone from weekly to monthly/bimonthly posts. This year we decided to volunteer doing repair in our local community. In 2018 we will hit the road as Mend It, Australia https://www.facebook.com/mendaussie/ and visit repair cafes, fixit events and the like.
Till next time…..Karen aka RUDE Girl x
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Awww Karen, that is awesome about Mend It! Sounds like wonderful fun ahead for Rude. Thank you for your comment. I’ve missed being on here. Now to catch up on what you’ve been doing as well. Between the migraines and the celiac disease (I was diagnosed a year ago), I’ve had ups and downs but getting through it somehow.
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Stunning!! Fantastic work
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Thank you so much!
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