Photomontage of my antique-table-refinishing project: Part 1

When I bought this table, the legs were covered in a discusting white finish that was cracking and peeling. My sister-in-law thought that it would actually dimish the value of the antique table to strip it off. But, I wanted a sleek, dark, beautiful table. The top was so oily and grimy that I was afraid to eat off of it.

It took me and my previous boyfriend four or five times to strip off all the paint and grime. It was a dirty and smelly job, but afterwards we discovered the true nature of the shade of wood underneath. This picture was taken after the table was sanded, which took months (notice the film of dust on the lense). I almost decided to go with the beautiful light shade of wood! The legs, however, appeared to be a different type of wood (it was supposed to be an oak table). So then I contemplated staining the legs a dark shade and the table a light shade. Spooky...

This picture was taken after the first staining of the dark red color. We stained it about twice (correction: my previous boyfriend did all the staining and sanding. Hey! I was outside mowing the lawn! At least I helped with the stripping of the paint and the varnishing.)

I finally decided on all one shade. I think it was "Red Oak." This picture was taken after the first coat of finish. Notice the two leaves? One is propped up to the side of the right side of the table. My cat decided one night that it would be fun to jump on top of this leaf. I found the leaf tilted on the floor the next morning. I wish I'd seen Megan's face when she found out the leaf was not exactly steady!