They started out like this-

So I found a great tutorial on Centsational Gal who showed me just what I needed to do to stain something. In fact, I followed it note for note with the exception of the wood conditioning- I skipped that step. I just felt like I didn't need it.
To put it simple:
1. sand your table ( two of these tables had already been stripped-we'll get to that in a minute)
2. using a foam brush I brushed on my stain-going with the grain.
3. I gave them some time to dry-almost three days. Then I sealed them.
Now, let me tell you my difficulties.
So that little pedestal table-it was the piece that wasn't stripped- that made things difficult. I had to sand the top for a long time to get to the wood grain. I didn't bother with the pedestal. I just didn't care too much honestly and it was in good shape so I left it as is. But, the stain didn't take too well. So I had to wipe a lot of it off.
I also resolved myself to the fact that some of the areas-i.e the legs-would be darker than others. Not really an issue for me. I didn't mind that the coverage was a little thicker in certain places.
Another problem I encountered was that the basement was just too cold. I had to bring all the tables upstairs to the kitchen to sit overnight and finally they dried. Then I sealed them outside on the deck and they were finished.
So originally I had plans for each of the tables in this set-scattering them all over the house-but now I've changed my mind. I'm using them as they are for an end table in the living room.


I love that they are so dark. I used the 'red chestnut' shade and it matches perfectly with our other furniture in the living room.
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
K
What great looking tables!
ReplyDeletethey look fab!
ReplyDeleteThey look wonderful.
ReplyDeletethey look GREAT!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a fantastic job on these! Love Penny
ReplyDeletenicely done! my hubby is our resident stain/paint expert...so i'm super impressed!
ReplyDeleteWow! That looks great! I love Centsational Girl and I'm going to bookmark your link as well as hers. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDelete