two tone dining table?

[ktgrok]

Our dining room table is real wood, and big enough, and that's about all i can say for it, lol. We got it for about $200 off of craigslist 10 years ago and it has taken a beating. The top is now scratched some which is fine, but it also has had the finish, whatever that is, wear off in areas, etc so some parts are light and some are darker and it looks terrible. I often keep a tablecloth on it to make it look nice as it is the very first thing you see when you walk in our house, but kids are constantly spilling things on the table cloth so that isn't a great solution. I'd love to NOT use a tablecloth, but that means fixing it. 

I do NOT want to redo the whole table. It is a 10 yr old bought used $200 table, and it isn't worth days of work, you know?Same  and there are tons of ridges/indentations/fancy stuff on the legs that I don't want to deal with trying to sand well - same with the chairs.  Eventually we will replace it but that isn't in the budget right now. I'm seeing lots of photos of dining tables that are two colors, or two finishes, which makes me think I could just redo the top. 

the only issue is that the ones I see are wood finish top and painted legs. Could I do the opposite, and have a painted top and leave the wood stained legs? Or even do the top a very different stain? I will never manage to match the legs, which is why i'm looking at two tone tables for inspiration. This and this are ones I've seen. 

Photo below is of my table as it currently is.

[PrincessMommy]

It is super easy to sand and refinish, especially a flat surface. 

I've been working on refinishing a loom and it's not been as big of a deal as I feared... and I am NO expert.  

I would say for a table top with children in the house maybe give it 3 coats of poly instead of the traditional 2.   And the cool thing is  if you get scratches, just lightly sand the whole thing and give it another coat of poly!  

You can do it!!

Edited January 29, 2020 by PrincessMommy

[Pawz4me]

I painted the top of our dining room table last year and left the base and chairs with the original stain. My plan was to paint it and make do with it while I looked for a new one, but I like it well enough that I haven't been motivated to look. I used chalk paint and about seven coats of wipe-on poly (had to order it from Amazon--couldn't find it locally).

[ktgrok]

19 minutes ago, PrincessMommy said:

It is super easy to sand and refinish, especially a flat surface. 

I've been working on refinishing a loom and it's not been as big of a deal as I feared... and I am NO expert.  

I would say for a table top with children in the house maybe give it 3 coats of poly instead of the traditional 2.   And the cool thing is  if you get scratches, just lightly sand the whole thing and give it another coat of poly!  

You can do it!!

So you would try to redo it the original color? Find a matching stain or something so it matches the legs? I agree that redoing the top seems doable, it's that I don't want to do all the more intricate parts!

13 minutes ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

Not sure if yours is doable, but Howard’s Restore A Finish is extremely popular on the old house/old furniture FB sites I visit. I think it’s less than $15 a container.

What color would you use do you think? Part of the issue is I seem to be missing the ability to match this, lol. I think one of the chair pieces is loose, I may take that with me to the store! https://www.howardproducts.com/product/restor-a-finish/

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I painted the top of our dining room table last year and left the base and chairs with the original stain. My plan was to paint it and make do with it while I looked for a new one, but I like it well enough that I haven't been motivated to look. I used chalk paint and about seven coats of wipe-on poly (had to order it from Amazon--couldn't find it locally).

Do you have a photo? I'd love to see it - I can't seem to find any that just have the top painted. They all seem to either be all painted or top stained and legs painted. 

[Pawz4me]

Just now, Ktgrok said:

Do you have a photo? I'd love to see it - I can't seem to find any that just have the top painted. They all seem to either be all painted or top stained and legs painted. 

Give me a little while and I'll get one.

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Give me a little while and I'll get one.

Thank you!

[ktgrok]

I'm also seeing now that there are instructions on how to build a faux top for the table, basically a cover, but not sure that would work given the way this one has those side bits. (I'm sure there is a technical term, lol)

[BlsdMama]

I tried a restore product on our oak table this past year and it was an incredible disappointment - maybe because we're so hard on things?

I'm sanding the whole thing down and applying a new coat of stain and several coats of polyurethane.  Staining is so much easier than painting - except legs and things.  I'm certain that's why we see so many tables with painted legs and restained tops! 😉 

Essentially you would sand with a heavy grit like 100, then 120, then 220, and then 320 until it's silky using an orbital sander.  Use a tac cloth and wipe off all dust.  When you're ready to stain, apply a wood condition and let sit for 15 minutes or so, but not longer than an hour or so. Then apply stain and let sit for 10-15 minutes.  Wipe off excess with an old t-shirt.  Let dry according to the directions.

For polyurethane, the best thing I've seen is the Purdy Syntox brush.  Wicked expensive at $15 and worth it.  Look up a procedure called tipping off.  There are youtube videos.  You need to apply gently and tip off to avoid bubbles in the polyurethane.  Let dry at night over night and keep kiddos and dust away.  Then repeat so you have 3-4 coats on it.  I did 3 on my kitchen cabinets and I'm really thinking I need four.  My mom suggested a 3 in 1 product but I'm super hesitant because I think the thicker product might be more prone to bubbles.

I'm not going to lie - watching wood take stain is one of the most deeply satisfying things I've done this month.  :P  😉

[May]

I would use an orbital sander and sand the top. You then could fine matching stain or stain close enough. I would put at least 3 coats of a polyurethane on top, lighting sanding between each coat. You could also paint the top, at seal that, leaving the legs alone. Good luck😊

[Myra]

Here's a different way to go ....  keep using the table clothes you already own but put a plastic see-through vinyl table cover on top of them.  You can buy the clear vinyl cheaply at stores like Wal-mart that sell it by  the yard.  This would protect your table cloth and make the vinyl is easy to wipe down!  

[Pawz4me]

Here you go. Please ignore the odds and ends on the table. The top looks shinier than the apron/skirt/whatever you call it because I didn't bother putting poly on that. We hand sanded the top because we don't trust ourselves with power tools. We definitely could have done a better job on that, but like I said--our intention was just to get it good enough to use until we found a new one.

[PrincessMommy]

49 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

So you would try to redo it the original color? Find a matching stain or something so it matches the legs? I agree that redoing the top seems doable, it's that I don't want to do all the more intricate parts!

What color would you use do you think? Part of the issue is I seem to be missing the ability to match this, lol. I think one of the chair pieces is loose, I may take that with me to the store! https://www.howardproducts.com/product/restor-a-finish/

I would sand and then poly... no stain.   The poly does offer a slight color or darkening of the wood - not much.  I think it depends on the wood though too.  I have done this with a loom bench and now I'm working on a different brand loom.  the coloration is slightly different:   Here's some photos and you can see.  I sanded down as far to the bare wood as I could.  Then poly. with Minwax Fast-Drying Poly Clear Satin.  Both were in similar condition as your table top so the old finish came off really easily.  

First one is the bench in a different room than the loom pictures.

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by PrincessMommy

[PrincessMommy]

 I bought this for the loom project because I have other items I want to begin working on. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OJWLNMO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

  I usually use those sponge  sandpaper but I was watching Mary at White Cottage Company on YouTube and she rec. that electric sander.  It has worked like a charm... and I plan to use it with future projects.  Otherwise, the hand-held ones that are shaped like a kitchen sponge work great for flat surfaces.

https://www.amazon.com/Sackorange-Different-Specifications-Assortment-Washable/dp/B07HHQS67P/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=brick+sander&qid=1580315273&s=hi&sr=1-10

[Carol in Cal.]

Personally I would just get a few more tablecloths and swap them out every time they got stained, even if it’s every day.  It would really disturb me to sand and refinish a table and have it get dinged or scratched right away, which seems all but inevitable in this case.  Plus I like tablecloths and can find inexpensive, cheerful, varied ones on EBay.

[Pawz4me]

14 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Personally I would just get a few more tablecloths and swap them out every time they got stained, even if it’s every day.  It would really disturb me to sand and refinish a table and have it get dinged or scratched right away, which seems all but inevitable in this case.  Plus I like tablecloths and can find inexpensive, cheerful, varied ones on EBay.

I think most people are either table cloth lovers or table cloth haters. It's a very polarizing subject. 😉 

I'm firmly on the hater side. They're okay in restaurants, but definitely not what I want to fool with at home.

[Katy]

I don't think paint will last long on a table top.

If you're worried about durability you could strip the existing finish off and finish with something different, maybe clear waterlox or something.  You can always put another coat on top and it's food safe.

[Carol in Cal.]

38 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I think most people are either table cloth lovers or table cloth haters. It's a very polarizing subject. 😉 

I'm firmly on the hater side. They're okay in restaurants, but definitely not what I want to fool with at home.

I’m not talking about lace or damask, or even chinz.  

Rather I am talking about those kitschy table cloths from the 1950s, with flowers or seasonal graphic shapes on them in bright or nicely faded colors.  They are nice and heavy, made from heavy cotton that washes beautifully and doesn’t hold stains.  

[Pawz4me]

5 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I’m not talking about lace or damask, or even chinz.  

Rather I am talking about those kitschy table cloths from the 1950s, with flowers or seasonal graphic shapes on them in bright or nicely faded colors.  They are nice and heavy, made from heavy cotton that washes beautifully and doesn’t hold stains.  

Oh I understand. I hate those just as much as any other tablecloth, though. I hate having to take them off and wash them, I hate trying to get them back on the table just right (because it bugs me if they're not *just right*), I hate futzing with them when I slide in/out of a chair quickly, etc.

[ktgrok]

I actually like tablecloths, at least in theory. But because this is open to the living room, with no real division of space, I don't want anything too busy, and it has to kind of go with the feel of the living room. Which narrows it down. And it does drive me nuts when they are not even on all sides, but I keep two heavy stone birds on the middle of the table to hold it in place. That works a bit, but not great. 

But the more I'm researching the more this looks like a long project. Sigh. 

I may try the restore a finish stuff first, and then decide. 

[Carol in Cal.]

2 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

I actually like tablecloths, at least in theory. But because this is open to the living room, with no real division of space, I don't want anything too busy, and it has to kind of go with the feel of the living room. Which narrows it down. And it does drive me nuts when they are not even on all sides, but I keep two heavy stone birds on the middle of the table to hold it in place. That works a bit, but not great. 

But the more I'm researching the more this looks like a long project. Sigh. 

I may try the restore a finish stuff first, and then decide. 

Sounds like it’s time to look on Craigslist again.  Or is there a Buy Nothing facebook group in your area?  Ours has free tables all the time, and they are usually medium sized and in decent shape.  YMMV but it’s worth a look.

[wathe]

I think I would do a light sanding and then some clear coat.  It will darken up the exposed wood, maybe enough to look good enough.  It's a low cost, low time investment that might do the trick.

[ktgrok]

ok, so thinking and looking more, another option is to chalk paint it. The wood doesn't match anything else in our home anyway. Most of our furniture in that room is Ikea grey-brown. Other rooms have natural wood, but not that color, more oak I think. 

I'm reading that for chalk paint I don't really have to sand it well, maybe just the top there to make sure it is smooth, and then top with poly. 

[Sherry in OH]

If you decide against staining or painting, does decoupage appeal?  Here are some examples.

My grandmother had a piece of glass cut to fit over her old dining table.  She arranged photos and mementos under it.   I've also seen glass used over cloth tablecloths.

 

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Sherry in OH said:

If you decide against staining or painting, does decoupage appeal?  Here are some examples.

My grandmother had a piece of glass cut to fit over her old dining table.  She arranged photos and mementos under it.   I've also seen glass used over cloth tablecloths.

 

ooh - thats really pretty!!!!! 

Like a permanent tablecloth 🙂

I think maybe I'm leaning toward chalk paint so I can do the legs/chairs too. the more I think about it the more I realize I really dislike the color they are. It would be fun to do it in grey and something else. 

[ktgrok]

oooh - this kit gets rave reviews! No sanding - just apply a deglaze first. https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/transformations/furniture-transformations

[May]

3 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

ok, so thinking and looking more, another option is to chalk paint it. The wood doesn't match anything else in our home anyway. Most of our furniture in that room is Ikea grey-brown. Other rooms have natural wood, but not that color, more oak I think. 

I'm reading that for chalk paint I don't really have to sand it well, maybe just the top there to make sure it is smooth, and then top with poly. 

Having used chalk paint, I would still lightly sand it and wipe down. I’m sure it’s just me, but I’ve always used more chalk paint then the can says I should use. If you do use chalk paint, post a picture and how much paint you really use.

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

That’s an interesting product!  I need to do a dresser and am very tempted, because the sanding and staining and refinishing is a total pain in the butt.

The amazon reviews, and blog posts I've seen, are all very pleased. Some don't like the top coat it comes with and prefer another product, others say it is fine, but may need two coats, others have no problems. All seem to love the rest of it. The glazed grey would be perfect for our house!

[ktgrok]

here is a table done with the kit. https://www.onemilehomestyle.com/2013/10/dining-room-table-transformation.html

[Scarlett]

21 hours ago, Plum said:

I used to have a kitchen table that was natural wood on top and white on the bottom. I think mixing it up is and always will be popular.

Gel Stain is really easy. It's thick and can get into crevices.  You can either paint it on for a more solid look. Or you can paint it on and wipe it off, which shows more of the grain. Check out the pictures on their website. I think that's exactly what you are looking for. I redid my grandmothers kitchen cabinets before renting out the house. I used the oil-based Java gel stain with the first coat being Candelite for a bit of a reddish undertone. Here's the colors. I painted it on with a foam brush and wiped it off with a lint-free cloth. 

Here's a before and after.

 

I love this!  

[Beth S]

A "when you're finished" suggestion:

We love our wood dining room table, which we use for every meal.
My dh had an oval piece of glass custom cut for the top, supported by little plastic disks.

We use placemats, and enjoy seeing the wood top all the time.
For 30 years now!

It's easy to remove if deep cleaning is needed, or to add in the leaves to make the table larger (both are rare).

ETA:  We use an inexpensive vinyl wipe-off tablecloth from Walmart when we're doing something messy on the table.

Edited January 30, 2020 by Beth S

[ktgrok]

Gel stain is another option I'm considering, I just don't think I have a great option for matching it to anything else in the room. Grey with the glaze on it with the rust-oleum kit would look good I think. 

[Katy]

We have a piece of glass over our dining table too, instead of tablecloths.  It's great except when little kids start using forks, they love to stick things between the glass and the table.

[ktgrok]

Update!

I got the $35 Furniture Transformations kit, and also got a different poly because I read so many complaints about the one that came in the kit. Oh, and a nice paintbrush. Did no sanding, just scrubbed it with the deglosser (comes with a scrubby pad) and then wiped with a damp rag and let dry. 

It looks awesome! I mean, there are mistakes where I had drips of paint on the chairs, or drips of poly, but given that the chairs are missing entire rungs in places I'm not too worried about a few drips, lol. 

I did the optional (included) decorative gloss only on the top of the table as it is designed to simulate wood grain via the brush strokes, and although that worked great on a large flat surface it didn't work well on the intricate rungs/carvings/etc on the chairs so we just left them and the table legs plain grey. This is a photo of the top before and after. 

[cjzimmer1]

Wow! That looks great!  Would love to see a picture of the table legs too just for comparison.

[PrincessMommy]

On 1/30/2020 at 1:36 PM, Seasider too said:

In a heartbeat, I would paint that table a fun color and top it with a heavy duty sealant. I wouldn’t mess with keeping the wood look. 

But that’s just me. 

Eyeing my own kitchen table now...

When I had a round table I always wanted to paint a big sunflower on the top.  I never did it though.  I think it would be fun to paint something whimsical, but it takes a lot more effort than one color.

[Corraleno]

That looks amazing! ❤️ 

 

[PrincessMommy]

@Ktgrok - very nicely done.  

[ktgrok]

Oh, and chairs. 

[alisoncooks]

That looks fabulous!!

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

I like the chairs a little better than the table for my own tastes, did one have a glaze and the other didn’t?

 

HUGE improvement over the original!  Wow!

I used the glaze on the table top but not on the table legs or chairs.I used the glaze on the table top but not on the table legs or chairs.

[ktgrok]

Need a quick help! I’m going to die the fabric that the chairs are upholstered with. Do I do you dark brown to match the living room furniture that is in the same open space or should I do something funky like bright red? My accent color is red. I’m at the store now and have both in my cart.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Ktgrok

[ktgrok]

6 minutes ago, parent said:

Post pictures.  I lean brown.

No real photos

4 minutes ago, parent said:

Have you dyed fabric before?  Does it rub off if you sit on it?  Are you removing fabric to dye?  At that point I would buy new fabric, not that expensive with coupon at joanns.  They have some beautiful upholstery fabrics.

 

I already removed the fabric and washed it to get the old dirt and grime off of them. Before I put it back on was thinking of dying it darker. Trying to avoid spending another 50 bucks on it fabric with this project when I can spend three dollars on die. Going to cover it with a waterproof fabric protector spray after it dries.

[ktgrok]

Please excuse my typos. Using voice to text while pushing the cart. Part of the reason I want to save money on this as we spent $460 on one of the dogs yesterday at the vet, LOL.

[ktgrok]

5 minutes ago, parent said:

I think dyeing red is risky.  Could look orange or not like you expect.  What color are you starting with?

Your table looks great.  I would go brown

Good point. And matching red’s to other reds is always hard anyway. Fabric is cream-colored right now. I’ll do the brown. Plus that way it ties it in more to be living area.

[ktgrok]

So it seems my fabric is polyester and pretty impervious to dye. Now it just looks meh. Trying to decide if I just use it anyway, or go up to Joann and get something cheap. Looks like Duck Canvas comes in several colors, is used for cushions, and not expensive. Need to measure to see how much I'd need. Thinking I'll get the deep mahogany, as that looks to be about what our Ikea couch is and wouldn't show stains. I do have waterpoofing/stain proofing stuff to put on them as well. https://www.joann.com/jo-ann-stores-duck-canvas-fabric/prd23683.html#q=duck%2Bcanvas&start=1

But I don't wanna leave the house again!

[Scarlett]

I am late to the party, but that table looks amazing.  Great job.

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, parent said:

I would not do solid color.  Print hides a multitude of spills.  I did 6 large seat chairs with fabric from Joanns.  Used a coupon and fabric wasn't very expensive.  We sprayed with scotch guard and it has been great.  No obvious stains anywhere but I am sure the pattern helps.

Eta:  they also sometimes have clearance patterns and you may find something that works.

I started to argue that I wanted a solid because I always have a patterned tablecloth on there and don't want the seats to clash....and then remembered I don't have to use a tablecloth anymore!!