Table and Chair Sets

Weatherproofing a Wood Table

March 21, 2013 by Christa @ Stories of a House 8 Comments

~ As promised, I’m back to show how I prepared this CL table for use on our back patio ~

I haven’t started on the benches yet ~ I’m sure I will finish them to match the table color, then find a bright outdoor rug to ground the table and define the area.

We are just starting on our patio space, and one of the first things Kevin did was hang these cute outdoor lights overhead.

patiotablelights1

The lights create the right amount of bling and ambiance while hanging out back.

patiotablelights2

Anyway, back to the process of refinishing the table.

First, I sanded through the old stain and finish with 120 grit electric sandpaper. Then, I smoothed it all over with 220 grit. You can see the table after sanding here.

Next, I used a pre-stain wood conditioner, since pine is so soft and porous and the wood would have otherwise looked too blotchy. The stain color I chose was what I had on-hand, Minwax oil-based special walnut.

Since the final finish was going to be applied with my spray gun, I chose a water-based product. This is Spar Urethane in satin, which is supposed to be good for furniture used outdoors, as it claims to expand and contract during changes in temperature. I applied 5-6 coats, and will be sure to update at a later date whether or not I would recommend the water-based Spar. They make an oil-based version, and that is what I would have used if I were brushing this product on. But, my spray gun wins almost every time, and I go for the easiest clean-up

p.s. I could only find the water-based Spar at Home Depot; my Lowe’s only carried oil-based.

Whomever built this otherwise amazing table used PINK wood filler all over it! I mean, it was everywhere.

So, after staining, I took some acrylic craft paint and a small brush and blended the pink in with the rest of the table color.

After painting….

…and after sealing with the topcoat.

Here’s one more shot of the finish that I am expecting to hold up to rain and the major AZ temperature swings.

Up next is a boy’s antique dresser set in midnight blue!

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Home Decor, My Home, Products I Like, Table and Chair Sets, Tutorials, Wood Finishing

The Patio Table in Progress

March 15, 2013 by Christa @ Stories of a House 11 Comments

We have been looking for an affordable patio table for over a year now ~ something durable that didn’t cost a fortune. Until this weekend, we weren’t sure we’d ever find something that fit that criteria, but then the heavens opened and I found this massive farm style, pine plank table. We bought it for $1300 less than the owners said they paid for it. We actually bought it for less than the materials would have cost us to build. We know this after building our DIY farmhouse table. Plus, this thing weighs two tons. I could barely lift the corners up myself to lay something down prior to staining and sealing.

As you can see, it had been sitting outside but hadn’t been properly sealed for outdoor use. I went through a lot of electric sandpaper to get it smooth and ready to stain.

After sanding an re-staining:

Here is a quick before and after peak of the finish:

I’ll post the final “after” and also more details on how I’ve prepared the table for lots of wear and tear, soon.

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Finding Furniture, Furniture, Home Decor, My Home, Table and Chair Sets, Wood Finishing

Our diy farmhouse table

November 27, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 16 Comments

We are so happy to have the folding kitchen table back in the garage and our homemade Farmhouse table finished! First, Kevin designed our vision on Autocad and this was that look we were after:

He spent a couple of days building it and I spent a couple of days finishing the top and painting the base and here is what we have now…we LOVE it!

I found the two Pottery Barn Windsor arm chairs on Craigslist, and the four side chairs on a Craigslist as well – which I plan to paint and distress to match. Now that I look at this photo, everything in this room is either homemade, from Craigslist or Goodwill, and most of it refinished from home.

Here are a couple of shots of the building process. Kevin dealt with a lot of warped pine and I dealt with a lot of cracks to fill with glue and sawdust before staining the top. The sanding alone took me an entire day to get it smooth and ready for staining and sealing. The stain I chose was Minwax Jacobean, but first I rubbed on a stain conditioner per the directions to prevent blotchiness. It turned out very rustic and gorgeous! The final finish is the same one I used here.

We have a ton of shots of the building process, but right now Kevin is job hunting. However, if he gets a chance to give more details on how he put it together, he will do it!

Back to the table, we purchased the chunky legs online from Osbornewood.com and the customer service was excellent.

Kevin built the table skirt himself.

We love the light and dark effects with the knots and where the cracks were filled with glue and sand dust.

One final shot of using our table for the first time on Thanksgiving. We look forward to many more holidays, family dinners, and game nights around this table.

Filed Under: Before and After, Do it Yourself, Furniture, Home Decor, My Home, Table and Chair Sets, Wood Finishing

My love of white kitchens

September 19, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 7 Comments

I’ve done many white kitchens in the past and I never tire of the look of them. They just seem timeless to me.

I had the opportunity to paint my parents’ oak kitchen cabinets white and when I am over there I always admire how much they brighten up their space. I finally got around to taking an after picture the other day at my sister in law’s baby shower. Here are some “during” pictures as I forgot to take some shots before I got started:

And after:

I love the black hardware against the white for contrast. (I used Benjamin Moore Aura paint in Acadia White.)

On another note, I’m very excited that Kevin and I are going to be building our farmhouse kitchen table soon. He drew up a plan of what we’ve been talking about and here is what we are thinking it will look like:

It’ll take us a few weeks but hopefully I’ll have the after pictures to share sooner than later. I recently finished painting my kitchen cabinet casings (again) and am working on the doors and drawers so there are a lot projects going on at once! Oh, the joys of being a DIY’er and a nester. The projects never end!

Filed Under: About Me, Before and After, Cabinetry, Do it Yourself, Home Decor, My Home, Paint Colors, Table and Chair Sets

~ Our cute little family room ~

September 17, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 15 Comments

I’m not exactly making the progress I thought I would over here, my friends. But, the family room is shaping up and I’ll take what I can get! This is the view from the kitchen. I’m so happy with the wall colors we chose (Frazee Keratin is the main house color), our homemaid built-in entertainment center, pendants from Lowes, and our slipcovered sofa and loveseat in off-white. I have a feeling they will be washed often. I may have ~~begged~~ asked the girls to keep the dirt on the down-low or lay a blanket down so I don’t have to wash them as often as they aren’t easy to put on! (Unless my pal Sausha can tell me what I’m doing wrong – her slipcovers always look perfect!) Call me lazy, I guess. I don’t like doing laundry but I sure do like clean stuff.

We are soon getting started on building our own farmhouse style table that will be situated to the right of the view of this picture. I bought some chairs on CL that I may or may not paint (Not these ones – I just sold them today as I found better ones for our space yesterday. Kevin and I really enjoy working on stuff together so I can’t wait to share all the details of our table and chairs. We’ve been brainstorming ideas for a month and think we have it figured out, yay!

And yes, the girls love their before-bed episode of the Brady Bunch. They say it wards off bad dreams. (I buy that story every night.)

Filed Under: About Me, Before and After, Do it Yourself, Family, Finding Furniture, Furniture, Home Decor, My Home, Paint Colors, Ramblings, Table and Chair Sets

2011 in review & 1000 followers giveaway

January 5, 2012 by Christa @ Stories of a House 30 Comments

Happy New Year!

When I started my little blog in 2010 I had ZERO expectations. Sure, I wanted to take furniture refinishing to the next level and share it with whomever would have the patience to sit through my ramblings…but I NEVER expected I’d be enjoying friendships with people from all around the world via phone, email, and text. I absolutely love what I do, and I appreciate your friendship, whether you just lurk or directly correspond with me. Thank you so much….muah!

2011 was a year of growth and change for myself and our family. I like to blog about these things here and there because this is my little scrapbook journal (I gave paper scrapbooking the old college try but failed miserably). This isn’t just for my family to read but also for my blog family to get to know me better as a real person, and not just a girl who perpetually has paint in her hair and under her nails. Here’s our 2011 in a nutshell:

* Last week we received final approval on the second home we put an offer on which is just a few doors down from my folks’ house. This transaction took 5 weeks. The other offer we made is still going on 9 months and is dead in the water. God is good; we like this house better, and being so close to Mom and Dad is the most AMAZING blessing ever (along with having my brother and his wife 2 blocks away). So this means we are putting our lovely home on the market and the packing begins. (Anyone wanna come and help; I’ll feed ya!) We look forward to downsizing and cutting expenses, but will greatly miss this home which holds precious memories.

* The girls changed schools. Boy was this ever the 2011 monstrosity. It took about 3 months before the tears subsided, and although they are doing okay, and in spite of being voted class representatives, they aren’t “feeling it.” But, they are really learning a lot. Many times I’ve resorted to saying, “hate me now, thank me later.” I was offered a job as their school nurse, but since I absolutely love the refinishing and working one day/week at the surgery center combo I accepted a substitute school nurse position. I can render aid to playground boo-boos and stay in the loop of what’s happening at the school.

* I was invited to put my furniture in the most adorable boutique, and I move in on January 12th. Email me if you want the location!

* My sister got engaged to the most wonderful man. She waited 32 years and he was worth the wait.

* I am now seeing a personal trainer because I am wearing a strapless dress next month to the aforementioned occasion. Right now my arms are shaking because I did a total of 210 push ups this morning. That was not a typo; thanks, Mark

* We resolved to take more family trips in 2011 and have done pretty well. We did Florida, a Disney cruise with Kevin’s family, camping (twice, with great friends from church community group), and annual passes to Disney. We’ve been to Disney twice in 2 months so far, and the girls cried last night when we came back home. I see another trip in our future, soon.

* I wrote a book! I can’t believe I accomplished it with the help of our friends, Mike and Keeley of European Paint Finishes. Kevin and I truly enjoy their company, and they are a whiz at what they do. Love them!

Well, enough about me and my family…on to the giveaway!

Having 1,000 followers and 2,010 RSS readers is very humbling. If you “like” Stories one way or the other (facebook, Google follower, RSS feed – I’m easy) just leave a comment for any or all of them and I’ll randomly select a wonderful person to receive a download link to our Guide to Furniture Finishes e-book. If you already have the book before the giveaway is over and are selected, I’ll just refund ya

Happy New Year and blessings from above to you ALL!

(Scroll up to the top to click to leave a comment; another WordPress feature I need to figure out…)

Filed Under: About Me, Antiques, Before and After, Cabinetry, Do it Yourself, Family, faq, Favorites, Finding Furniture, Furniture, Home Decor, Household, My Home, Organizing, Paint Colors, Products I Like, Project Diaries, Ramblings, Real and Raw, Recipes, Table and Chair Sets, Thrifting, Tutorials, Uncategorized, Video Tutorials, Wood Finishing, Workspace

French Farmhouse Table

November 2, 2010 by Christa @ Stories of a House 23 Comments

I’ve had this table/chairs for several months because I’ve been uninspired, so yesterday I decided to strip the top and go from there. Still nothing. I went inside for inspiration and stumbled upon a post that Sherry at No Minimalist here wrote which showed her kitchen table:

Ding! Ding! Ding! After the lacquer was stripped, I sanded through the stain down to the bare wood, and did not re-stain it. As much as I wanted to keep the top completely natural, I didn’t want to sell it without a clear coat. I debated this, knowing that it would darken the natural wood, but after thoughts of someone spilling red wine on it, I decided to clear coat, and think there is still enough contrast between the top and the base.

Updated to add the finished table:

The inventory around here has gotten pretty out of control, which I’ve learned is nothing but a monkey on my back. I’m determined to clear out the garage and back patio and make a fresh start, so I’m getting busy!

Filed Under: Before and After, Furniture, Table and Chair Sets