Farmhouse Dining Table

A little over a week ago, I fell deeply in lust with a Craigslist table:

actual listing photo

I thought I was hunting for dining room chairs, NOT dining room tables, but who am I to question divine furniture intervention?  I promptly made an appointment to check out the table since it was located nearby.  I returned home even more smitten than before.

I convinced Handy Husband that I would absolutely die if I did not become the owner of this perfectly wonderful and only slightly used table.  He was skeptical.  A few days later, we enlisted the help of Uncle Muncle, brother to Handy Husband, to pick up and bring the outrageously heavy table home (thanks guys).

Once out of the seller's basement and in the natural light the table revealed her true colors.  This old girl has definitely seen better days.  I think a cat had been using it as a scratching post.  How did I miss this?  I made the Craigslist rookie mistake of doing my recon in the evening.  Take note, you can't get a meaningful look at anything after dark in a stranger's basement.  Lesson learned.

After getting the table home, I will admit to a little bit of internal freak out.  Intense Buyers Remorse started to set in.  No turning back now.

I sanded that poor old butcher block table top within an inch of its life.  What a messy job.  *Luckily* I was able to remove all of the scratches, gounges, nicks and dings.  A few days later, when my muscles recovered from the sanding experience, I cleaned the surface with mineral spirits.  The next day I applied the first of several coats of Minwax wipe on polyurethane (sanding lightly between coats).

Applying the multiple coats of poly took a few days.  In the meantime, the table legs were also in need of some serious TLC.

 

I scrubbed the legs first with soapy water and then with Tri Sodium Phosphate.  When the legs were clean and dry I applied a coat of Rust-Oleum primer and Heirloom White spray paint.

The finished table top is shiny and clean.

I painted the drawer to match the bottom of the table.

Isn't she lovely?

Now all we need is the perfect chairs...

This DIY project has been linked up with:

Restored It Wednesdays @ Restore Interiors

Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed

Transformation Thursdays @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

Project Diaries, Volume 11 @ Stories of a House
Everything But The Kitchen Sink @ A Little Knick Knack