Table Re-Do

When hubby and I moved into our first house, his parents gave us an old dining set to use. At first, it was meant to be a makeshift temporary nook table but as time went on, I found out that hubby is secretly very attached to the table. This dining table belonged to his parents and they've had it for over 20 years. This table has been well loved and the finish has worn to bare wood in many places over the decades of repeated use and wiping. Long scratches mar the surface and the style is most definitely of the 80's variety. There was hope though--the set was solid hardwood which made it durable, light, and best of all, refinishable. (Is that even a word?) I digress. The chairs were still in good condition--the finish was still shiny but the cushions were stained in some places. As a compromise to replacing the set altogether, hubby agreed to let me refinish it and re-upholster the chair cushions.

Now...I took construction in high school and loved it so I had some idea of how to proceed. I didn't have a lot of the tools for a truly professional looking job but luckily, the "craftsman" style is in so a few nicks and bumps along the way just adds to the character. Here is the before:



Most of the wooden furniture in our house is a deep brown and leans more towards the classic/romantic look but there is no way that I could give the little table a deep stain and still have it look legitimate. It'd look like it was trying too hard to be something it is not. No...I examined the table further and realized that it has some Pottery Barn-esque possibilities. Small. Cute. Shabby Chic. Kind of like this:



Oooh...when I see this, I automatically thought of summer and sunshine. All this torrential rain makes me long for sunshine. So I thought...what if I painted the set white and redid the cushions in a summery yellow like this?



After some hemming and hawing, I decided to go for it. It doesn't really match or serve as a cohesive transition from the great room to the kitchen, but it's such a cute little table. Here it is, after 2 full days of sanding, priming, painting, glossing, and covering.



I'm hoping I did the right thing. There is no question the table needed to be refinished but I'm not 100% sure the white & yellow works inside. It'd be great for the outdoor patio that I am dreaming about though. It's too late to redo it now and I'm too exhausted to even contemplate another go around so I guess we'll just keep it as is.

Total cost: $20
Time spent: 25 hours

The breakdown:
Paint: free, all leftover from previous owners
Brushes/Supplies: n/a since the brushes were leftover from previous painting projects. Sure got our moneys worth!
Sunbrella outdoor mod yellow fabric: $20

Furnishing the Great Outdoors

The forecast for the next week is going to be gloomy, wet, and rainy but that isn't stopping me from imagining warmer days ahead! We had a BBQ over the weekend but spent most of the time indoors because of the weather. I have been longing for warmer weather and since it should arrive any day now, I am looking forward to spending lots of quality time outside. The benefit of buying an older home is that the landscaping has had a chance to mature and grow. In all but winter time, the leafy branches on the trees along the backyard create a delicate screen that provides us a lot of privacy from the neighbors behind us.

In order to enjoy the yard though, we do need a bit of furnishing. I'm sure that most people by now have heard of the design concept of "bringing in the outdoors" via plants or similarly hued colors. Our house has plenty of houseplants now...in the living room alone, we have one tree that is taller than I am, one palm, and seven varieties of houseplants. Even when we decided to do an indoor wedding, I still found a way to bring in plenty of chiffon draping and real trees decorated with fresh orchids.

A twist to bringing in the outdoors is to create rooms in the outdoors. The thought occurred to me during our multiple wedding planning brainstorms. I loved the plush outdoor "lounges" created by cascading filmy fabric on canopies and fancy sofas and chaises that were all the rage for weddings. Now, I am starting to see outdoor "rooms". Wouldn't this be an absolutely lovely place to sit and read on a warm summer afternoon? Or having friends over for an evening of cocktails and 'smores?



It looks like all they did was add some fabric and colorful accents to turn an ordinary covered patio into something exotic and alluring. The illusion french doors and windows were pure genius.


This picture is of a Portland porch. Again, a little bit of fabric and thoughtful furnishings went a long way into making this a cozy retreat. What a great place to sit and have afternoon tea!



For something super simple and festive, why not stake some bamboo poles into the grass ( or in pails filled with concrete) and drape fabric over it for an instant tent? Add in colorful print tablecloth for a much cuter and more comfortable way to picnic in the backyard. No more numb legs from sitting or sunburn from overhead!

(source for pics)

All in good time :) Probably not this summer unless I score some killer deals but someday.