Monday, January 30, 2012

1…2…3

Darin taught him a new trick!

So cute. Just wanted to share.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

THE refinishing project

BEFORE:

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Buffet table. Loved the design, but had water damage on top and something had to be done with the gold hardware.

 

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Dining chair (set of 4)

 

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Dining table.  Actually in pretty good shape.  I fell in love with it because it has these two main panels (in picture) and a drop down leave on each side (not pictured because they’d already been removed) AND 3 more leaves that can be added in the middle.  This range in length made it the perfect table for apartment living!

 

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I laugh now. But I cried then. SO much sanding.  I actually sanded the entire table with 60 grit BY HAND—yup like holding a flimsy piece of sandpaper in my hand—before finally borrowing a hand sander.  I used that to go over it again with a finer grit and do the chairs and buffet table from the beginning. This made the job a lot easier, but STILL there was so much sanding that I’m replacing this friend’s sander.  I wore right through it. I know now. I will know what I’m getting myself into next time.

 

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While Darin and Kayden took a quick weekend trip to Utah, I spent most of my waking hours priming and painting.  OOPS! Didn’t see on the can that the primer was blue/gray.  Just means more coats of paint to cover it.  yippee.

 

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After the paint.

 

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You can see in this picture, the table doesn’t look so white anymore.  I roughly sanded the edges and rubbed dark walnut colored stain and rubbed it off.  It was just enough to give it the more aged look I wanted (although you can see it much better on the buffet table). Oh- and yes, our apartment was a wreck for a while there.  Poor Kayden was barricaded out of the dining/kitchen areas.

 

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Then the clear coats (3 on top to make it more water resistant—2 on the rest). Thank goodness reupholstering the chairs was easy! And got the fabric for a steal!

So the dining set was exciting, but I have to admit that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the buffet table.  It has so much more character.  I did the same as for the table, but I also spray painted the hardware to look like a pewter metal—super cool new spray paints they have.

 

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So…this is what you see when you come in the front door. Oh! and this is where I should introduce our new piano!  well, new to us.  We love her.

 

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YEAH!!  This is the first time Darin and I have had a real dining table since we’ve been married! (Notice Kayden is ready for the prayer—so cute!)

 

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I got it done in time to host 13 people for Thanksgiving dinner!

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Pretty good excuse for not blogging for a while, right?