I've been super ambitious lately. I made a huge TO DO list a few weeks ago and have been on fire. Being housebound during the recent New England flooding and now this fantastic balmy weather has only helped matters. So the past two days have been spent outside tackling my Mom's old oak table. It was the dining table I grew up with, so it has sentimental value, but it was stained and blah. Wanting to soften it, I brushed up on my liming skills on Google and found these
instructions. I've limed before with thinned latex white paint. It works great for small, flat areas. This table had a lot of carved areas and the dry time of the paint made me nervous so I opted for wax. FYI, thinned paint will give you a whiter finish. This didn't exactly come out how I expected, and I had to make my own technique, but here it is...
Above is the before.
You will need clean, bare wood. I probably could have gotten away with just sanding the poly off but my hands would have went numb and fallen off. I opted for nasty chemical stripper. It did the trick, them I lightly sanded everything.
Then I mixed clear wax with whiting powder. What a beast! The wax was so hard, I tried softening it (the microwave crossed my mind, but it is highly flammable stuff), but I really have no patience. I'm sure this is part of the problem as to why it wasn't as white as I had hoped. Anyhow, after many wax-ons wax-offs I finally just rubbed whiting powder all over the table. That did the trick, and I sealed it with a thin coat of wax.
When all was done it had a soft, worn feel... no longer shiny and Provincial stained.
Oh, and the chairs were another project. Found these a few weeks ago in my neighborhood. They had lovely hunter green seats and a pinky maple stain, hello 1992, but the caning was in great shape. So, some new fabric and a little white spray paint was all they needed.
Here they are mid transformation...
The forecast for 50- 60 degrees for the next week has me so excited for
A great, cheap DIY. I have a huge 3' round piece of mirror that I have been trying to figure what to do with. Hmmmm...I might just take a walk to the beach this week to do some scouring.
Cottage Style
I know its still a bit premature, but Christmas really is my favorite holiday. I made my son a construction paper countdown chain back in the end of September! (More for me them him I think.) I figured I'd ease in gently with my favorite color, turquoise. Still a fan of traditional reds and greens, but this could be fun. Isn't the mantle above just the balls! (Sorry, couldn't resist.) But isn't it?
I'd love to do this to my floors!
Wow, sorry so teeny. I just bought a glass top Parsons console at the Crate and Barrel outlet today for $49 buckds and plan on painting it coral for my entry. Should look similar to the above bed.
