So I'm pretty new to blogging.
In fact, I wasn't even sure I was ready to take this leap of faith, but the journey anywhere starts with that first step. That being said, I am little prepared to share the drastic change this makeover had in our home as I have no pictures of the before and process to the final result. (Which I do love!!)
It all started in February when my now husband and I got married. February 29. That's right, February 29. It was his idea. I think he thought he would only have to remember every four years or maybe only celebrate every four years, I'm not sure. But I don't think he's gonna get away with it. In fact, I think we will celebrate February 28 and March 1 on all those not leap years. I digress...
We intended on living in the home we had at the time; however, COVID hit and our college age kids were home (three of them) without jobs for the moment or classes to attend in person. Plus, we already had one finishing her high school semester at home.
Well, needless to say, it was more than our little three bedroom, two bathroom home could handle. So the idea was planted. We needed a bigger home. There would be nine of us now! Holidays would be crowded, visits would be shortened, nerves would be stretched. If we don't do this, I thought, I'll never see my kids or future grandkids. It would be too crowded with no place to go or (truth be told) have a break from each other. We needed more space.
My hubby and I started planning and praying and praying and praying. And finally the day arrived when we were ready to move into our new home. I loved the dining room set I had already, but it just didn't match the new look of our home. It was a dark walnut stain and it just clashed with our new home's colors and it's bright, farmhouse style cabinets and countertops.
But, it still had so much life left in it and I loved it. It was one of the first pieces of furniture I ever bought new. Delivered on a truck. Put together by someone other than me and the little hex key wrench thing that comes with the kit. Honestly, I was a little sentimental about it, not to mention I paid a lot of money for it. And I HATE to waste money. Everything was in great condition, it just didn't match.
So I did what I love to do. I took something old (in this case) and created something new and beautiful (forgive the bragging).
I loved how it turned out. It matches so well with the new decor.
So here's the process in a nutshell. As I said earlier, it was a dark, walnut stain. Dark! I mean, I was afraid it would take gallons of paint or hours of sanding to get the look I was wanting for this makeover. In fact, the whole kitchen in the old house was dark. And I loved it! I wish I had pictures to show of the original table, but I don't. Here is a close match to what it was. This is the fireplace we had in our living room which was adjoining the dining room. I bought the fireplace to match the dining room set, so although it wasn't exactly the same, it was close.
My first thought was to find a chalk paint in a color I liked that would match the new countertops and farmhouse style. I knew I could cover anything with chalk paint, am I right? So I started my shopping journey. I picked up an off white color from Michael's. But it was definitely too off. The countertops had more white in them as you can see below.
So back I went for another try. Which I'm not complaining. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do and if that means more shopping, well, let's just say I'm up for that. This time I got an aged gray chalk paint from Home Depot as well as a White Wash Wood Stain.
I tried the chalk paint first because I have never used white wood stain before. I've used chalk paint on several of my favorite pieces, so went with what I was comfortable with. I used a very small amount of chalk paint as I didn't want to totally cover the grain of the wood; however, it still wasn't right. I was starting to get a little nervous. Chalk paint had never let me down before, but I wasn't getting it right. I kept remembering that price of the dining room set as I cracked that white wood stain open. Wow... was I nervous. But I thought I could always sand it down if it looked bad. It may never get done (pretty labor intensive for me), but I knew there was a fix if this didn't work. Well, what happened next was one of those moments where you just feel relieved and excited all at the same moment. That ding, ding, ding, ding of the gameshow bell that you won the prize. I tried the same technique, just very little stain and a dry brush. It was beautiful. The grain was there, the color was there, it was what I was looking for. But it wasn't quite finished. I needed something to tie it into the countertops just a little more. To pull the whole room together and not have this dining room set that was bright and farmhousy, but not really tied into the room. So the search continued. I tried the gray chalk paint on top of the white wash stain. Nope. I tried the off white chalk paint over the stain. Nope. What did it need? I just couldn't figure it out. And honestly, I think my guy was a little tired of dragging the chairs from one house to the other so I could match paint. We must have done it ten times! So I got the creative one of this bunch, my daughter. She has a great eye. She had turned her nose up at most all my attempts and although she felt bad that I couldn't get it right, she gave it to me straight. She said I needed to pull out the brown in the countertops more. That was it. One statement just matter of fact. But it made all the difference. So off to Ace Hardware we went with a picture of the countertop in tow. I had five or so colors picked out at the paint chip color station of heaven, but none to her liking. Too gray, too white, too ugly, too whatever. And then, she reached out to the hundred or so color cards and picked one. Just one. This is it! So we got a quart of Trench Coat Tan in semi-gloss and off we went. I love that girl! She saved me from hours of sanding. From tears of frustration. From temper tantrums. She turned my sentimental dining room set into a newly created, farmhouse style, pulling it all together, family gathering, favorite spot in the house.
Here's a close-up photo of the finish. Don't you just love the grain peeking through and the brush strokes. It ties in so well.
And you can see how well it goes with the flooring. I just love it. All I did after this was cover the table and chairs with two coats of polyurethane and the seats and backs of the chairs as well as the table top with an additional two coats. It's been two months and one Thanksgiving dinner down and it is holding up great!
Thanks for joining me in my Char-made Creation! Please come back and join me again or drop me a note if you have any questions or comments. I would love to hear from you!
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