Dining Set Makeover & Spread The Kindness Link Up On the Edge #760
The weather I have been waiting for has finally (mostly) arrived and I have been taking great advantage of the dry days to get some painting done. I have a list of spring and summer home projects that is so long that it requires three columns to fit it all on one page. Last week, I was able to tackle a pretty big project and cross it off my list. My shoulders hurt like hell by the time I was finished, but it was worth it because I now have the dining room table of my dreams.
Nearly three years ago, I shared my dining room makeover when I painted the boring cream colored walls in lovely shades of green. I also featured my DIY burlap curtains which I really loved but have since changed to shaggy raggy valances which I love even more. The “Seaglass” Shaggy Raggy Valance hangs over the back windows and the “Woodland” Shaggy Raggy Valance hangs above the side windows.
I was very content with the results of my dining room makeover, however, all of the dining room furniture is in desperate need of a makeover as well. Actually, all of the furniture in my house is in desperate need of a makeover, which is why my project list is three columns long. I have already completed and crossed off a few smaller furniture projects that I haven’t shared yet because I am too excited to share my dream dining room table and chairs.
All of the pieces of our dining room set came to us secondhand. The bench was handed down from friends, the chairs were passed down from my mother-in-law, and I found the table 15 years ago in a Craigslist ad for $100. This table is one of my best ever secondhand purchases. It is a heavy duty solid wood table that would probably cost a few thousand dollars if I bought it brand new.
The lady who sold us the table shared memories of every scratch, pen mark, and paint splatter that it acquired over the years while she raised her family around it. At first, she apologized for all the marks but I told her that I really loved them and the memories just gave it more personality. Over the next 15 years of raising my family around the very same table, it acquired even more scratches, pen marks, and paint splatters all with their own stories and cherished memories. But the wood was starting to get all bubbly and a little too chippy peely for my taste. So in the interest of preserving the best table ever, I gave it a makeover. Now all of those memories are sealed and preserved beneath the layers of paint and furniture wax.
The bench was the first piece to get a paint job. She started out all black with a wood colored seat. I always liked this bench but I always hated that it was black and I never really liked that it was two-toned with the natural wood seat. So I chose the leftover green paint that I used for the dining room walls, turned it into chalk paint, and made the bench green. One layer of furniture wax and a quick buffing and my sister didn’t even recognize it as the same bench that has been at my dining room table for nearly 15 years.
I can’t remember exactly when my mother-in-law gave us the chairs but we have had them for many years now. Not as long as the table and bench, but definitely a fair amount of time. There are two captain’s chairs and four regular chairs in the set. After I painted the bench, I realized that I had exactly seven different shades of green paint…one for each seat around the table…so I painted each chair in a different shade of green.
By the time the chairs were completed, I still hadn’t figured out how I was going to paint the table. I had a few different ideas swirling around in my head until I went over to really look at the table. Once I noticed all the lines of the wood in perfect grid format, I knew immediately that I wanted a patchwork table in all seven shades of green. So I taped off the lines and numbered each section from 1 to 7, making sure that two of the same numbers didn’t touch.
Then I mixed all seven colors into my homemade chalk paint and numbered each jar of paint 1 through 7. The next step was painting. Three coats of paint were needed which I was able to apply fairly quickly. Chalk paint dries faster than regular paint and I had a fan blowing on the table to induce a quicker dry time as well. After three coats were applied in one color, I did allow at least an hour before moving my tape lines. Although I wasn’t that worried about the tape pulling up some paint because I was going to distress the table anyway. I prefer to distress furniture when I paint it because it blends with any natural distressing that will happen in the future.
Once all the painting was done and properly dried, I lightly sanded the whole table to give it the distressed look, dusted it off, applied the furniture wax, and buffed it.
It turned out even better than I imagined and I am so pleased with myself for what I have created!
Do you keep lists of projects like I do? What are you working on now?
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Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
20 Comments
Steph@Stephcreatesthings
Shelbee, I absolutely love how your dining table turned out. It’s beautiful and fun! Thank you for hosting this wonderful link-up. Wishing you a beautiful weekend ahead.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Steph, thank you so much! I am so, so happy with how this turned out! It makes me smile every time I walk into my dining room. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
Wow, wow, wow! That looks incredible. I LOVE it so much.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Joanne, thank you so much! I am totally in love with it, too!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jennifer
It turned out great!
Jennifer
https://curatedbyjennifer.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Melynda Brown
WOW, love the dining table makeover! Thanks for hosting, have a great week ahead. Melynda @scratchmadefood!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Melynda, thank you so much! Have a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Anne M Bray
Awesome!
All sorts of greeny goodness.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, thank you, thank you! It’s a lot of green but I do love green. I scored 3 different green paints on the clearance shelf at Lowe’s. They mark the mistints at like 75% off so I scoop them up and then make my own custom colors for various projects. More projects to come!
xoxo
Shelbee
Di
Shelbee, this is really a wow makeover! I love what you have done, it looks fabulous, and is so creative. You put a lot of work and love into your home and it shows. You must be very proud. Thanks for hosting the link up, and hope you have a wonderful weekend!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, Di, thank you so much, my friend. I definitely do put a lot of love into all of my projects and I am very proud of my results! In the second half of my life, I just wanted to be surrounded by things that bring me joy so I am making sure that happens!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
Shelbee, this makeover is just amazing! I always liked the idea of mismatched chairs, but I never have been able to pull it off. But, the same chairs in all different colors is a genius idea! Your sister was so right about the bench not being recognizable. It’s completely different! Your home is just a wonderland of beautiful colors and loving touches! Thanks so much for the feature and the new link up!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Marsha! I have always loved mismatched chairs as well but I always thought the chairs should be mismatched not just the colors. However, I work with what I have (the cheapest way to do things) and I couldn’t be happier with the results! I did recently makeover four other chairs for a friend. It is two sets of two matching chairs but I painted them in four different colors. They came out so stinking cute. I will share them soon! Have a lovely weekend, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Gail
Great result, you’ve preserved the much loved table and turned the set into something completely unique.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Gail, thank you so much! I am so pleased with the results of this project!
xoxo
Shelbee
nicole orriens
I love make-overs and this is a great one. It makes me want to paint our kitchen table!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nicole! You should definitely paint it! It’s like I have a brand new table now. So worth the effort!
xoxo
Shelbee
Pamela Graham
What a fabulous project! A coat of paint is the very best kind of makeover!
Pamela
http://www.style-yourself-confident.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Pamela! I agree! Plus it’s probably the cheapest way to give something a makeover!
xoxo
Shelbee