~Before and After~ Antique table

Hi guys! I was so grateful for the opportunity to work on this piece this week so I could show you before the weekend! The transformation is one of my favorites.

This table came from my grandmother, Mamoo. She's had it in her garage for years as a spot to keep all her gardening tools. The first time I saw it I loved it. While simple, it's still a unique piece which could be used several different ways; and I tend to gravitate toward versatile pieces. When Mamoo told me she was cleaning out the garage and generously offered it to me, I couldn't wait to get started!

Here is her table before:

After:

I sanded all the paint off the table top and stained it in Ebony by Minwax Wood Finish, (see the end of the post for a staining tip). Then I painted over the rest of the piece in Old White by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. For these legs, steel wool was my distressing tool of choice to reveal some peeks of the original green, which is just so pretty. 

Once removing the layers of paint from the top I noticed tons of imperfections in the wood. The wonderful and horrible thing about using a super dark stain such as this is that any imperfections will make the tone of the wood look uneven. In this case, it was a wonderful thing. I think the table top looks like it was made from salvaged, weathered pieces of wood. Yet, it's smooth as a baby's bottom, making it an ideal spot for some handwritten notes, (people still do that these days, right?)

I've never seen pull-out table leafs like these. They fit perfectly under the table and pull out with ease. One could get pretty creative in how they use those extra 9" per side. 

You can see here how the leaf tucks right back in when not needed.

{Piece is available for sale at $350. Dimensions are 41 x 29 x 29, pull-out leafs are 9"}

Staining Tip:

I don't brush stain on, I wipe it on using paper towels, (so I don't have to spend my whole day running cloths through the laundry to remove the stain, which gets messy). I start by rubbing the stain on in circular motions to really 'sink' it into the wood, then follow that with even back and forth motion.

And as usual on a Friday, here are some highlights from our week :)

Enjoying the Anthropologie "bird house city" window display with my little bird.

3 fountain wishes. Ok, this shot of Mason, (middle), is killing me. What a goof!

Speaking of Mason, he and I had our first ever time out alone with each other. He was born into a chaotic household, (the twins were 16mo), and did a beautiful job jumping right into the thick of it with the rest of us. But I soaked up my time alone with him like a sponge. His gusto and thirst for adventure is contagious and sometimes I need a good dose of that!

Sometimes we all just need to be alone.

And speaking of alone, this is where I found my precious little introvert the other day when he wasn't downstairs playing with his siblings. Chillin in his room making matchbox car traffic, as usual. I am so blessed by his sweet, gentle heart.

Thank you all so much for reading! Have a lovely weekend!

~Chelsea