Thursday, February 3, 2011

French Provencial Coffee Table

A while back, I agreed to refinish this dining table and chairs for a lady I've done a few pieces for. 

I've never refinished a table set, so I have been relentlessly bugging seeking advice from darling Christa over at Stories of a House. This girl is a true professional, people!  She has helped me so much, and has offered alot of advice.  *Much of the information in this post comes from Christa, who just happens to be in the process of writing an e-book about furniture refinishing.*  If you want a copy, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to get in line behind ME!!!  :)

Anyways, I thought I'd better practice on something before tackling the real table set, and I thought this coffee table that has just been sitting in my garage would be perfect!

After sanding and priming the base, I painted it with my new Sherwin-Williams "Creamy" (Miss Mustard's favorite color).  I got it in their low or 0 VOC line.  It's kinda spendy, but my brother is a home builder, and the painter he uses~ that would be Larry~ has an account at SW, so I got Larry's discount!  Score!

After some distressing, I applied Minwax Dark Walnut stain to give it a lovely antiqued look.  I just brushed it on with a spongebrush and then wiped most of it off with a cloth.

I finished the base with a coat of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax.  I usually use a cloth, but I this time I used cheescloth.  It worked great! 

WARNING~ when stain is used over paint, it takes quite a while to stick really well.  I only waited overnight to apply the wax over the stain.  Lots of the stain came off when I wiped on the wax.  The stain stayed in all the little nooks, crannies and grooves, but on the flat surfaces alot was wiped away.  I really liked it that way, but if I had wanted more of the stain to remain, a spray-on polycrylic would have worked great for a protectant, or I suppose giving it more time to dry might do the trick, too!

Next it was time for the serious work~stripping the top. At the risk of sounding like a complete ding dong, I'll admit I thought people used stripper because they were just too lazy to sand.  Well, it turns out that stripping the top of a piece that is going to be stained prevents the wood grain from being ruined, as sanding would do.   I used CitriStrip because it is less toxic than some of the other paint strippers
After I had scraped and cleaned off all the varnish, I lightly sanded the top with 220 grit sandpaper.

Next it was time to stain.  I used these staining pads to wipe on two coats of stain instead of a cloth.  They worked really well!

After the stain dried, I used a new favorite suggested by Christa~ Formby's Tung Oil. 

I wiped on two coats with a cloth, allowing plenty of time to dry between each coat. 

For a little extra shine, I used this wax again for the final topcoat~

Here is another look at the before~

Here's the after~





The actual table set will premeire in Spring 2011!  (When my spray gun comes out of hibernation) Stay tuned...  :)

45 comments:

Erika . . . with a K said...

Wow, this looks amazing!! Can't wait to see the table set. I want to do my coffee table now!

Cassie Bustamante said...

it looks gorgeous! i love tung oil finish, too- it's my favorite most natural looking finish on wood!

Tara Lauren said...

Looks fabulous!

Chrissie said...

Wow! The table looks great!

Sherry Hicks said...

Amazingly beautiful!! I want one!

Allison@FabRehab said...

YUM! I am DYING to do a 2 tone project. Looks beautiful!

Artichoke Alley said...

Gorgeous!! I love tung oil and paste wax...best friends to a girl in this business! Another great job!

Jane @ Jane's Junk and Treasures said...

Perfect!!!
Looks awesome!

Jenny said...

Fantastic, nice job and great tutorial too - thanks. ;-)

Anna Whiston-Donaldson said...

this looks great! I have a little table for my foyer I want to do this to. Stained on top, black or cream on the bottom.

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

Your table looks fabulous! And I'm putting tung oil on my shopping list. Thanks for the tip. And I know the table and chairs will turn out great too!

Ali Richardson said...

It's SO gorgeous! Great job. Lot of work went into this piece and it shows!!

Katie said...

It looks great!! I can't wait to do a piece that is not painted on top! I nominated you for the stylish blogger award!! I love your furniture! Come check it out if you want!

http://craptastickatie.blogspot.com/2011/02/me-stylish-blogger.html

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous two toned look you achieved! Great tips! I love all the products you used. Tung Oil is one of my favorites, too. It really shows off the beauty of the wood. Great job, Kim!

I'm sure your paint sprayer will be happy to see you :) xo

Debra@Dejarenew.blogspot.com said...

Just beautiful. I am throwing my first link party in honor of my 100 followers milestone. I would love for you to link this beauty up!

Take Care.
Deb
http://dejarenew.blogspot.com

Sue@Uniquely Chic said...

Ohh la la...love it, Kim. And especially all the products and info you shared. All good to know!

Suzanne said...

Kimberly, the table looks even better than you described!! Wonderfully done. I'm confident the table will be stunning!!!

foreverdecorating said...

I refinish furniture all the time and just finished a table in this same way. You did a fantastic job. You can do the dining room set...no problems!

Anne said...

It couldn't have been done better by a pro -- beautiful! I love the Citristrip product,too.

Angie Holden said...

That is amazingly gorgeous!! You do fabulous work!! :)

Inspired by you said...

It turned out lovely! Nice job!

Christa @ Stories of a House said...

Umm, could that coffee table get any more beautiful! It was nice of you to mention me, but this baby was all you, girlfriend. You do NICE work.

Chrissy said...

You did an absolutely fabulous job, this is exactly what I want to do with my dininig room table, but am afraid to try it. This may have given me some inspiration :) I just found you from Finding Fabulous for Less FF and am now a follower.

Teresa@Much-A-Do said...

Your coffee table refinish is amazing! I can't wait to see how the dining table turns out. I've been wanting to refinish my 30-year old trestle table - maybe "watching" your project will give me the courage to tackle it!

Unknown said...

Amazing! Thats all I can say! Thanks for sharing. 8>)

Allison Shops said...

Looks great!
Dropping by from Met Mon. Hope you'll come see my youngest daughter's dining room redo.

Allison
Atticmag

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

It turned out so pretty! I really love using either tung oil or a wax. It gives it a nice sheen without the shine.

Courtney ~ French Country Cottage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Courtney ~ French Country Cottage said...

Looks darling~ well done!! I love the stain with the painted apron and legs! Stopping by from Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

Honey at 2805 said...

Looks terrific. You saved it's life!

Nicole said...

I just decided this weekend that over the summer I will be redoing my table set, and it looks similar to that one! Can't wait to see what you do with it. PS Love the blog. You have a new follower!

Laurie at Turner Farm said...

Wow, what a great transformation!

Michelle said...

OOOOOO, that looks great! I like the white bottom with the dark top. Great Job!
Michelle
www.thrifty101.blogspot.com

Vintagesouthernlife said...

The table looks great! Nice job!!

Unknown said...

WOW!! You did great! I love it! I'm gearing myself up for a refinishing project on my old dresser from when I was a girl. Kind of scared to get started but I'm sure it will be just what my daughter wants in her room!

Unknown said...

Your table is beautiful! You did a fabulous job! Love the great tutorial too!

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers!
Tina

Joselyn said...

Visiting from The Shabby Chic Cottage. The table turned out great. I am into furniture refinishing as well and use many of the same products. Looking forward to seeing the dining room table.

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

It's gorgeous! Don't let anyone put there feet on top of it! ;)

Ali Richardson said...

Hi!! I gave you the versatile blogger award on my blog. Come on over and check it out :)

Angela said...

Thank you for the detailed info to get such a beautiful finished table.
xoxo
Angela.

Lori @ Projects Plenty said...

You did a fantastic job on the coffee table... the finish is beautiful. Be sure and post how the table set comes out. Thanks for sharing.

Lori

Biljana said...

Amazing job, it looks so beautiful:-)
Hugs, Biljana

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

I love this, what great results! Thanks so much for linking up to Beyond The Picket Fence.

Carrie @ Dittle Dattle said...

Hello Kim! I wanted to let you know that I featured you on this weeks "Amaze Me Monday". Hope you have a great week!

Kristina @ A Home Made by Kiki said...

Great job!! I can't wait till garage sale season starts here so that I can keep my eye out for a piece to practice on!

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