I actually wanted to call this the “Two-Friends-Two-Tone-Table,” but that was kind of a mouthful!
Once upon a time, one of my dear friends got it into her head that she wanted me to refinish a dining set for her. The fact that she lives 750 miles away from me was no deterrent to her…nor was the fact that she has never physically seen any of the pieces I have refinished. She was determined!
So the search began—long distance and on-line—to find a suitable table. We were on a tight budget, since her husband is one of the nation’s many unemployed.
Enter Friend 2. Upon hearing of our search, she offered to let me have a vintage dining set that had belonged to her husband’s mother. Yes, let me have. As in—for free. She knew it was for another friend of mine, and that they had no money. So out of the goodness of her heart, she donated to our “cause.”
Friend 1 and Friend 2 don’t know each other, and probably will never meet. But bless them both, for having faith in ME to put this little transaction together!
The table was completely disassembled when I first saw it, but I fell for the chunky legs…hard.
The table top has pull-out leaves on each end and a beautiful apron (it’s the piece on the right, leaning up against the dresser that later became yellow).
Plus a pretty stretcher (it’s not quite so blurry in real life).
And six chairs, one of which is an arm chair.
Friend 1 only ever saw the pictures, but she trusted me to bring this dining set into the current century! I’m sure she had a few misgivings along the way, though!
There were a lot of loose joints and such, so I had to do some gluing (this Bessey clamp was a marvel to work with—I borrowed it from a friend, and almost didn’t give it back):
…as well as some creative repair work on the arm chair. The dowel had broken off, so I used a 3/8” paddle bit to drill out the old dowel, and then I cut a new one to replace it and re-glued the arm back on the chair.
I enlisted some of my short help to sand chairs…
He looks thrilled, doesn’t he??
I sanded the table top completely down—you can see how dark the original finish was on the leaves!
The rest of the table top was not in nearly that good of condition!
The grooves on the top of the table reminded me of a checkerboard, and inspired me to try a two-color staining job. The only problem was that the grooves did not extend down the sides of the table top—but that was nothing a little work with a handsaw and some black paint couldn’t fix!
I painted the base of the table (and the chairs) black, and distressed them to highlight the turnings and carvings.
The dark stain on the table is Minwax Antique Walnut, and the lighter stain is Pecan.
Here you can see it with both leaves extended.
I love how the checkerboard effect shows up even on the sides with the leaves closed.
I wasn’t brave enough to pick out fabric for the chairs for someone else, so with the help of another friend, we took lots of pictures of bolts of fabric and sent them (via iPhone) before she chose this pretty black floral/paisley print.
The fabric on the seats wasn’t really dirty or in bad condition, so I didn’t remove it—I just added a new layer of batting and stapled the new fabric over all…plus a bit of my sleeve… (whoops!)
And there you have it: the Two Tone Table! I really love the look of it. It wouldn’t have been bad at all in my now-empty front room…
…but alas…my friend came and took it away (yes, from 750 miles away).
I hope it’s happy in its new home!
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Thanks to It’s So Very Cheri, Stylish Once Again, My Repurposed Life, and Simple Home Life for featuring this project!
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Linking up here:
47 comments:
Love the two-toned effect and the detailing on the legs and chairs is beautiful!
Wow Korrie! The table came out fantastic! I need a new table myself... So kind of you to do that for someone else, it was a ton of work! You're great and it is a beautiful table that she will treasure forever!
Susan
That is gorgeous! Your friend was right to have faith in your abilities. :)
I would have had a hard time parting with that table...
Love how you walked us through this process. Love the happy ending story. Love your one friend who just gave this to the other friend. Nice post to start a New Year! :) Smiles...
Oh wow Korrie, it's simply stunning! What a great post to start off the year!
What an amazing transformation! I am sure your friend will be over the moon - Lucky lady having such a good friend. Bye the way what paint did you use? CJ
Another beautiful ending!! Love the 2 tone. On another note...I wish chunky legs were just as attractive on humans...lols!
That is one beautifully made over set, and even more special because you did it for your friend. I am sure she will enjoy it. All the best in the New Year!
wow i.love.it ! It's beautiful Korrie. I love that you extended the grooves over the side with the handsaw. genius. It really added to the overall beautimous of it. :)
How I would have had a hard time parting with it!
gail
I love, love that checkerboard top! That was a beautiful story of friendship!
Fantastic job Korrie. That really turned out nice.
I like stories like this. So many good people doing much good for others... there are so many truly good people in this world!
What a breathtaking project and what a wonderful friend you are! It turned out beautifully!
I love the table, but I loved the story more. It's such a blessing to be in the position to do good for others. Perfect post for a Sunday.
But I do love the staining techniques you used. Just gorgeous!!
Lucky friend. Gorgeous table!! And I love the chair cushions, too.
Happy New Year!
Great story and the dining room set turned out fantastic! I love the 2-toned look. What a blessing you are to your friend. :)
It looks fabulous! You have one lucky friend! Amazing job. I'd love it if you shared at my Saturday Splendour Party :)
www.megandmums.com
Outstanding ~ as usual! You are incredibly talented. And I loved the "year in review" too. The tables are to die for!
Happy New Year my friend ~
xo
Pat
MERCY, woman....is there ANYthing you can't do ? This is so beautiful, I don't know what to do. I love it and I know your friend is in heaven with this lovely set in her home. Wow...you did such an awesome job.
That is just beautiful!!
WOW! What a great story, and what an even greater table transformation. It's gorgeous!!! Great job :)
That is absolutely stunning.
It turned out fantastic! I love the way the sides look especially. It adds a bit of unique interest to it that you wouldn't normally think of. I have a coffee table that I'm thinking of doing something like that with, but can't decide to stain it or paint it 2-toned.
Super nice job, Korrie! Looks right at home with the base and I'm sure she smiled when she saw it the first time, too!
Visiting from Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues Linky party!
Thanks for sharing :D
Smiles, Suzanne at WhyCuzICan
What a lucky friend. You did a beautiful job (as always) on this table. I love the checkerboard inspiration.
it looks awesome as usual- i really love the two toned top. it looks so warm and rich!
BREATH TAKING! This is BEAUTIFUL! Friend #1 will LOVE IT, Friend #2 had no idea that such a wonderful gester of kindness would end up so AWESOME! Please join my linky party and share your wonderful talent!
Oh my what a lot of work, but for a good cause. You are a sweet person to do all of that work for your friend. It turned out beautifully too.
WOW! I love this! No wonder she trusted you to make it fabulous!
Korrie, this is beautiful. Your friend must be thrilled. I've never been a big fan of those chunky legs, but love how they look with the black paint. :)
Beautiful! I love the fabric on those chairs too. Happy New year to you!
Oh, I'm sure your friend is just in love with this table and chairs. What an amazing transformation!
Another truly fabulous transformation! You always do such a tremendous job and your projects never stop coming! Impressive!
Thank you for sharing at Potpourri Friday!
What a wonderful job! I really love it, and also love the fabric covered chairs...they pattern looks great! Thanks for sharing.....
Wow this turned out pretty cool. I love the legs too! Nice work!
Strangely enough, I have this same table and chairs (also a buffet and china cabinet). Other than recovering the chairs I have done too little to make it look better. My table is missing the molding on the bottom and I pulled out the rusty nails that remained. I bought it 4th hand from a co-worker of my sister. It is on my list of rehab jobs and I was very impsired by yours.
Nicely done! Love the black and the wood together.
Holly
It's Fan-Tas-Tic! Beautiful finish and I love the Black! Happy 2012 XO Cindy
Wow this is beautiful! I love the two-tone stain and the upholstered chairs are amazing!
A lot of love went into that redo. Every piece looks fantastic.
Okay, you are just a master! Love it! Happy New Year. Hope you're having a grand evening. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
WOW! the finished product is so gorgeous and I Love the fabric you chose!!
love the two toned wood, the table looks gorgeous and i love the base painted black!
Love this table and chairs in the two tone colors. I am a sucker for this type of dining room set as I have one myself. Beautiful job.
Korrie, thanks for sharing at Restyled Sundays. I featured you at this weeks party. My son just got a table with the band around the outside. I can't wait to show them these pics as an idea for their table.
That is such an amazing transformation! I f I were you I would not have wanted to give it up! Once again your talents have amazed me.
Krista
krista-artista.com
Check out my features-you're in my TOP 10. Grab a "I've been featured" button.
http://itssoverycheri.com/2012/01/21/top-10-features-from-1-1-2012-party/
Cheri from Its So Very Cheri
Great project! Would you mind sharing what black paint you used?
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