Re-Finishing and Painting My Kitchen Table

Kadie Arrington
by Kadie Arrington
5 Materials
I have had re-finishing my kitchen table on my to-do list for years. Building benches to go along with the table has been on my to-do list for over a year as well....I finally got around to doing both.
This is the table taken apart and ready to get worked on. We have had this table for about 5 years, we bought it from a second hand store. It needed a lot of love.
I started sanding with an electric sander. You can see the difference from where I started the middle with the new stain on it, and the sanded end. I'm not going to lie it took about 16 hours to sand the entire table top. It took a long time but the results were well worth the time.
After everything was sanded I took the decorative edge off the underside of the table. It had no structural importance, it was only for looks. And I didn't like the look of it,lol. The edging came off really easy with a screw driver and hammer.
Then it was time to stain the table top. I used MinWax in Jacobean to stain the top. I let it sit for about 5 minutes before wiping it back off. Because I wanted a really dark finish I did this step twice. I let the stain dry over night then added 3 layers of quick drying polyurethane.
For the bottom of the table I painted it with Country Chic Paint in Simplicity. After two layers of the chalk paint I used dark wax to bring out all the details in the wood work.
I also built two benches to go with the table. The benches are white washed on the top and sides then the legs and edges are painted in Adorned from Country Chic Paint. I'm really excited at how it all turned out!
Suggested materials:
  • Opening kitchen table
  • Country Chic Paint
  • Dark wax
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Kadie Arrington
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Patsy Price Patsy Price on Jun 05, 2018

    Did you sand down very far? I see you still have a design in the top. I have a table that the top finish has come off where my late husband sit so much. I kept the table turned, but that didn't keep it from doing it. What steps do I need to take to do mine? Any help will be appreciated.

  • Rose Rocha Willson Rose Rocha Willson on May 01, 2019

    Did you take the finish off the base before painting it? If so, how did you do it?

  • Becky Giles Becky Giles on Sep 18, 2020

    I have this exact same table and have been wanting to redo it for years now (its only about 16 years old!). Yours turned out great so now I think I dare take the plunge! Thanks for sharing!

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  • Joanie Joanie on Apr 26, 2019

    I love wood and I love stain.......this is a beautiful table!!!

  • Dawn Dawn on Sep 07, 2020

    I know how much effort goes into this type of project, but it is worth it in spades!!! You did a beautiful job on your table!!! I also like the finish on the bottom of the table, bench and chair. Amazing transformation!

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