kitchen table re-do!

by popular request, i’m here to help you re-do that drab table that your family used growing up. (pretty much everyone had this table, am i right?) lucky for me, my friend (and neighbor!) had one of these that she wanted to re-do, so i was more than willing to help guide her along the way. i will say, she did most of the b*tch work, but i spent a whole saturday with her painting, sanding, drinking, and giving my tips and tricks. in the end, the table turned out EXACTLY how she imagined, so we gave ourselves a good pat on the back.

first, you need the old ass table. and it better be that yellow wood, otherwise your transformation won’t be as amazing. (haha!)

now, i don’t have a lot of step-out process shots because i didn’t know i’d be writing a how-to blog, BUT hopefully you’ll get the gist. my friend wanted to go with a standard farmhouse look.. a white distressed bottom & chairs with a dark stained top. to achieve this simply, we used chalk paint and wax!

for the base and the chairs, we used folkart home decor chalk in adirondack white. we ended up needing a 32oz bottle only because we did multiple coats. the best part about this paint is that it doesn’t require any prep! the chalk paint works perfectly on wood, even with the shiny finish. follow the bottle instructions, but you’ll wanna paint on a coat, wait for it to dry ALL THE WAY, then paint another coat. be sure you’re using a chalk paintbrush.. it will hold more paint and fill in the grooves easier than a regular, flat paintbrush. DO NOT, and i repeat, DO NOT paint a second coat if your first coat isn’t completely dry. the brush will pickup your original paint and cause an uneven painted surface. it will look terrible. believe me. i’ve done it. (i am an impatient crafter!) just don’t do it.

the table top was a bit more challenging because we wanted to use a tint/stain, and in order to do that, it required pretty heavy sanding. you can grab an electric hand sander for like $15 and sand it down in about 10 minutes, OR you could get sandpaper and do it by hand. i would invest in the sander, though. once you’ve sanded and wiped down the top, you’re ready for tint. we opted for folkart home decor tint in walnut and only needed the 8oz bottle. this was applied with the folkart home decor foam roller, but you could easily do this with a brush or even an old t-shirt or towel. just be sure it’s even because with the wood showing through, you will easily be able to see imperfections. we did two coats of the tint.

once all of your coats of paint have dried, you can now distress your table as desired. (you don’t have to distress at all if you don’t like that look!) you can use regular sand paper to distress, or any sort of tools really. sand to your heart’s desire!

once you’ve sanded and given everything a quick wipe down (the sanding creates lots of dust), you can now begin your wax application. here we used the folkart home decor clear wax, and we needed the 16oz size. we just wanted to seal it without any additional coloring. (you can also get white or antique!) again, follow the bottle instructions, but apply the wax all over with a brush, preferably a wax brush. make sure it’s even. you will want to let this dry for 24 hours. the next day, grab an old t-shirt or towel and buff everything that was waxed. this takes away the matte look and gives it that perfect shine! (the more you buff, the shinier it will be.)

you. are. DONE! now, you can do however many coats of whatever you like, just be sure to follow the bottle instructions because there is a wait time suggested in between coats. patience is DEFINITELY a virtue when it comes to a big chalk & wax re-do, but let’s be honest.. it was WORTH it! here’s the final finished product! i hope you love how it turns out and be sure to comment or email me with any questions! i’m happy to help! 🙂