Dining Table Makeover REVEAL! (with thanks to Dutch Boy & CSN)

This post has been a long time coming It's only been a year and a half since I posted this before picture:

This picture is actually rather flattering to the table.  The top was very sticky and worn, and by the time we got around to refinishing it, much uglier than it appears to be in this photo.  I asked for input about the ugly (mismatched) chairs.  And while many of you agreed that they could be a fun project, they weren't doing it for me, and are having some structural challenges, as well.  I started researching what I wanted my dining room table and chairs to look like and fell in love with these napolean-style chairs.  I was thrilled when the folks at CSN offered me the opportunity to review some of their products, so I was able to get two of them for a fraction of the retail price.  They were just what I had been dreaming of, and I wrote about them my love for them here.  I had also found a great deal on some black benches at Big Lots, that solved the seating dilemma, yet, we still hadn't been able to get to refinishing the table.

What makes it even worse, is that the good people at Dutch Boy, sent me 4 gallons of their low VOC paint to try, and it was just sitting here waiting for me to do something!  Well, in the middle of all the party insanity this fall, I finally got BSB on board to help me, and bit by bit we made it happen!

We ( I should say BSB) took the table apart.  We used a chemical stripper to make sure we got off all of the varnish and make it easier to sand down the top.  We used this Gripper primer (recommended to us by the guy at Home Depot) and then painted the base in this creamy black satin Dutch Boy Paint.

I am enjoying using this paint on a few projects (more posts to come).  It seems like it was designed for someone just like me!  I know a lot of you DIYers are not intimidated by power tools and other typically male-oriented home improvement products, but I'm afraid, I'm kind of a girly-girl when it comes to these things.  I hate having to hammer the lid back on a bucket of paint, only to have to pry it open again with a screwdriver in a short while.  I usually don't get it on tight enough, anyway.  I really like the design of the containers of this paint.  They have a handle for carrying and pouring.  Those notches on the side help make it easy to screw the lid off and on.  It's all less intimidating for someone like me who doesn't love lots tools or having to find them when inspiration strikes.  But my favorite thing about this paint is the zero voc/ low odor feature!  It smells about as strong as Elmer's glue.  We use so many toxic chemicals in our world that I'm afraid effect our health negatively.  Truthfully, I haven't done all the research on the subject as far as paint is concerned, but it felt good not to feel the need to hold my breath while painting, and to be free from strong chemical odors as it cures.

On the downside, I used this product on another project, without primer, and it seemed like it took a lot of coats to get the coverage I wanted.  I'll have to let you know more, when I've completed other projects, but at this point, I might recommend using it with a separate primer.  It is fairly thin paint, which helps it go on smoothly, but may need more coats to finish the project.  I really like how the black on the table turned out:

The amazing thing is how much the black table, benches and chairs look like they were meant to go together even though they came from three different places.  It's almost too matchy-matchy now.  :-)

After sanding down the top of the table really well, BSB let me do some distressing...

He liked the wormholes I added, but was a bit distressed (get it?) that I added a few big gouges. (Oops!)  The nice thing about adding the worm hole and dents, is that when the children add their own, you'll never notice!  That, and the holes and gouges take the stain really well.  We layered on a couple of different colors of stain and finished with a rub-on poly.  I was hoping it would come out just a little darker than it did, but it is darker than it appears in these pictures and really looks nice in the room.

I was so happy to finally be blogging about this project that I decided I needed to dress it up for the season (and for my birthday dinner)!

It is so fun to have a table that doesn't need to be covered up!  (Except when the kids are eating on it.  :-)

More great gift ideas and other holiday goodness coming up soon!