Tuesday 15 May 2018

Refreshing memories!




Growing up for both my husband and I, sitting at the table for a family meal was always important and even more so for special occasions. At the dinner table there were many conversations, disagreements, lots of laughter but most of all there was a family together who were in great company. Now, with a family of our own, this is something that has become very important to us that our children experienced this and hopefully they too will have great memories like we do.  



Recently, my in-laws purchased a new dining suite so when asked if we would like to take their old one we were quite happy too! The table and chairs are over 30 years old and hold many precious memories for my husband such as Christmas dinners with his Grandparents who unfortunately are no longer with us. And since we met, it holds many memories for me too. While we loved the table as is, we wanted to give it a new lease of life for it's new home with us. 

So, one of our first tasks was to begin with the table top and begin striping it back. For us we thought this was going one of the easier steps but as you can see from some of the images below there was a little bit more too it. We used Nitromors three times with no real luck so my husband took to the sander to remove what was left ...... and 4 hours later, it was ready for waxing! Before I reveal how it looked, I will fill you in on the stages in between ;-)

                        

While the table was transforming, I begun on the chairs. Once the chairs were cleaned they were ready for their new lease of life.We chose to use Johnstone's Paint's Chalky furniture paint from their Revive range for the chairs and base of the table. For the Carver chairs we used Dusty Morning, the other four chairs we used Antique Sage and then for the base of the table we used Cushion White. I'd never used chalky paints before and was anxious if I'm honest in case I did it wrong or I was disappointed with the result. As I painted, I couldn't of been more wrong. As per Johnstone's Paint, it is very forgiving and I must say I think they are right. 

 


With the chairs being so dark and we wanted more of a solid finish, I used 4 coats of Dusty morning on the Carver chairs and 3 of the Antique Sage on the other chairs. The great thing above the paint was that within 30 minutes they were touch dry and you could repaint again within 4 hours so the whole process took no time at all. And once we were happy with the look we wanted each chair was finished using the Johnstone's Paint Clear Finishing Wax from their Revive range. 



Now that the chairs were complete, it was time to finish the table. After all of my husbands hard work in stripping it back, it was my turn to use Johnston's Paint Sepia Wax on the table top. This was such an easy task to do. I simply went went the grain of wood initially and then in circular movements to ensure the wax got into each grain of wood. 
Once that was complete, I began with the base of the table. The Cushion White just needed 2 coats and again once it was ready, we used the the clear wax to finish. 

To say we are delighted with the transformation is an understatement and so much easier than we thought, maybe not the table top but so worth those time to get the job done right. 



Our table has been given a new lease of life for another 30 years or more and I look forward to lots of laughter, discussions and disagreements but most of all time with my family making lots of memories with them to cherish. 



Disclaimer
I was gifted this paint from Johnstone's paint to take part in their Do-ers Campaign to show you how easy it is to transform a piece of furniture from old to new for you. 





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