Thanksgiving project

So I've been wanting a new dining room table and chairs

for quite sometime but other needs or pleasures have come

before purchasing table and chairs.

Then one day while reading Paula Deen's magazine, I

came across a table and chairs of hers that I fell madly

in love with. She had them out on her porch, which looked

amazing with a buffet, chair and table, all in white. So I

thought I would like to copy that picture perfect porch and

make over our back porch which needs some TLC. We

haven't sat out there for a few years. We do alot of barbequing

during the summer and I thought if we loved the porch we'd

sit out and enjoy the evenings more.

Then unexpectedly one day I stopped in at the Restore to

drop off some items we no longer wanted. Restore is a store

open to the public that takes/sells household items to help

build Habit of Humanity homes. There I found 4 off-white

chairs similar to the Paula Deen chairs I had seen in the

magazine. I purchased them for $60.00. They sat on my

back porch waiting for my TLC for a few months, due

to Labor Day vacation, canning peach jam, other commentments

that kept coming up. Also I had the problem of .....if I paint them

and then come across a table, would I have to paint the table to

match them or repaint the chairs to match the table.

This whole time I had this table and chairs picture in my head

for the back porch. Then it hit me like a light bulb moment,

why don't I fix them for our dining room in our house. It only

made more sense to have a nice table and chairs for the house

before the back porch. . . . duhhh!!

You see our dining room table was purchased in 1978

before me and Scott got married. It was always a nice

table so why replace it...right???

The chairs that we purchased with the table, we replaced

in 1982, with the ones we still used till this day. We paid a

pretty penny for them because they were on wheels and tilted

back for comfort at the mere price of $500.00 a piece back then.

Which seems outragious now but we were both working and making

pretty good wages, plus it was just the 2 of us then.

Scott went out of town with my son-in-law Jon to go elk hunting.

Scott doesn't like to hunt but he went to help Jon in case he got one.

So my plan was to get a few projects done while he was gone, one

of them was to paint the chairs and get them done. The other one

was to place my daughters dresser in her old room on KSL to get

rid of it and clean out her room. It had become my bottomless pit,

it had started to look like I needed to join hoarders anomyous...lol.

Within 20 minutes of placing the ad, I had sold it. I couldn't believe

it, I sold it for $60.00.

Then the next day while brousing our local classified ads KSL

(like Craig's List) I found the table I'd been looking for.

The table had 4 legs, not a pedestal with legs to catch our

feet on. It had chunky big legs not thin legs, I wanted some

thing that stood out and have some character to them. They

only wanted $50.00 for it.. I just knew with that price it would

go fast if it hadn't already been sold. I called a few times with

no answer, I finally left a message stating that I had been looking

for a table just like what they had for sale. It was later that day

when the gentlemen called me back stating if I wanted it I could

have it. I was so over joyed and thanked him several times for it.

So I pictured having this table and chairs done by the time Scott

got home from hunting. That gave me a week to do it all, that

should be no problem right????

I started with the table legs. I sprayed painted them outside

which the weather was pretty good still considering it was the

first week in November.

LEGS

The before and after picture

Landon helping me put the legs on the table. (3 weeks
later) I'll explain later in the story.



Finished leg on the table





Don't you think the chunky legs make


the table?


TABLE

Finished look of the table

Finished side look of table

So during the week Scott was gone, I watched Landon

while Kimberly was at work. Then Friday night I took

off and went to dinner and a movie Footloose. See the

previous story on my fantastic night. So it was just hard

trying to stay focused on getting it done.

The table was to heavy to lift so I knew I'd have to wait

for Scott to come home and help me lift it. So when he

got home we took it outside to spray paint it. When I

started to paint it ...it started to bubble, crack and peel.

UUHHHHH!! So we dragged it in the basement to let

it dry to strip it the next day.

So the next day after Scott got home from work we dragged

it outside and started wire brushing it off because it had

ridges so a sander wouldn't work. We'll we finally got it off

and decided that maybe it was dirty and the paint wouldn't

adhere to it. So I started spray painting it again. The one

half painted great...then the other half started cracking and

peeling AGAIN!!!.. so in the basement it went again to dry

again!

So the next day we tried some spray paint stripper, which

seemed to get most all of it off again. I had went down earlier

that day to Home Depot and got the paint matched. I was

going to paint it on with a brush and a foam roller. I put it

in Kimberly's room on a table, where it was nice and warm

(we think the cold air is what made the reaction to the spray

paint).

It turned out beautifully!!!!



So then I started on the top.

Previously before spray painting the bottom part of the table,

we had sanded all the polyuthane off.

I applied a wood conditioner. It helps the stain look more

evenly not blotchy. I used Minwax, I used it a few years

ago when we done my daughters desk. It done a great job

so I knew it really works.

I just applied it with a lint free cloth.

First coat of minwax PolyShades.

It has the stain and polyurethane together.

I used BOMBAY MAHOGANY GLOSS.

I applied 2 coats of the stain till I got the color

I desired. I applied it and then I went back and

rubbed off the excess till I got a smooth feel

(which is more difficult with the poly in it),

I used fine steel wool to buff out any imperfections,

then I applied another coat again, then rubbing

it evenly smooth again.

I applied it wth a new lint free cloth.

I then applied 3 coats of

HELMSMAN SPAR URETHANE CLEAR GLOSS

using another clean lint free cloth. I also rubbed it

on and then rubbed off excess till even and smooth.

I also let it dry 24 hrs between coats. Then I used

fine steel wool to buff down and smooth out any

imperfections. I didn't buff the final coat.



CHAIRS

Before picture of what the chairs looked like

Chair with the seat removed

Cushion after taking the staples out of it.

Sanded down any grooves or dents.

Kylie, my dog enjoying the nice day watching

mom work hard on the chairs.

The foam on the chairs were really worn out, so I

went to JoAnn's and bought High Density foam.

Traced out outline of the old cushion onto

the new foam using a medium sharpie. I

also number the cushions with the boards to

keep them straight also.

In the process of putting on the material on the

new foam I noticed the green color underneath

showing through because of the light colored material.

So I went to Walmart and bought some Pellon to put

between the material and cushion. It worked great,

the green color didn't show through plus it added some

padding to make it a softer cushion.

I layed down my outside material on the table facing

down, then I put down the cut out pellon (previously

I put down the pellon, then the cushion, then the board,

then cut enough to bring up to the board to staple to

the bottom of the board..so the green wouldn't show

through the sides) then the green cushion, then the

board.

Then I stapled the material and pellon to the board.

Trimming any excess off. I used a Dewalt hand stapler,

with 1/4 inch staples 6 mm thick.

I cut slits in the pellon and cut out excess pellon to give

it a smoother look in the corners.

Then we screwed the cushion to the chair.

The finished look of the chairs.

Like my other project in the background....need to

finish painting the baseboard in the front room.

So the table and chairs ended up costing me $158.00

Chairs 60.00

Table 50.00

Material 30.00

Paint & Stain 65.00

Batting 13.00

Total $218.00

Subtract money from dresser I sold 60.00 =

$158.00

So I had picture getting the table and chairs done

before Scott got home. Which was unreasonable,

I didn't realize how much work it would take to

get it done. This was my first attempt at making

over furniture. I then made it a goal of getting it

done by Thanksgiving. Which it probably would've

been done by....except...

• painting and stripping the table twice




• unstapling the material to one chair to add pellon so it wouldn't show the green cushion through




• finding the staples that would staple and not have to hammer them in

I want to thank my husband for the patience and tolerance of putting up with the house a mess with chairs, foam, material, tools etc for days. Hours of helping me sand and stripping the table. Putting up with all the frustrating moments that came up. Mostly putting up with my wild ideas that make work for him, which he put aside his own projects to help me with.

In the end we had a wonderful Thanksgiving on our new dining room table. I

am blessed to have a wonderful husband, family and friends that make my life special.