We all have seen beautiful vintage furniture that is an unfortunate color. When you buy vintage, if you leave it in the original stain from trends long past it can make your home feel like a flea market or thrift shop. A great way to give a piece new life is with a little TLC and products that make your job easier. I am so excited to share the items I used on my dining room table makeover that made all the difference and a big refinishing job quite easy. Everyone loves that white wash look right now, but it is actually so difficult to get that look just right!
I recently hunted on Facebook Marketplace forever for a new dining set for our dining nook off our kitchen. I found a set that I liked, I fell in love with the classic ladder back chairs but the color was very orange, worse than it looks like in the photo from the listing. I had not refinished furniture in a very long time, I never loved the process but I decided to give it a go.
On the main table to strip off the old finish, I tried out the Oven Cleaner Method. It worked pretty well. I did a lot of research and everyone seemed to recommend using the name brand cleaner and that this version worked the best. It took me two coats on the dining table and about 6 cans. This method does not always work so test it out on a small section before you buy a bunch of cans. It worked great on the table but not very good on the chairs
I really wanted to ensure that this was a classic looking revamp. When I design spaces I joke that I never want people to know what year it was furnished or renovated. I like that classic design feel. I knew that I needed to significantly lighten the tone of the wood to make it work with the other items in my home. I have a mixture of blonde and chocolate toned wood. Getting the right light wood color is really challenging, I actually tried 3 different stain combinations and liked NONE of them. It was getting really old to keep sanding down the top over and over (thank goodness it is a solid pine top) I ended up using Bona Nordic Seal White Wash.
I have used this product before and loved the outcome, it is really good at cancelling out undertones in wood. I used a foam brush to do 2 coats and this is the end result on the pine wood top.
For the table skirt & chairs I tried out Mineral Paint for the first time. I went with the shade "algonquin". It is a pretty putty-grey color. One container that size finished 4 chairs and the table skirt for me, I was very surprised at how far it went. I did do a light sanding between coats to get a smooth finish. To seal the painted areas, I used this matte clear coat I picked up at Home Depot. It worked great.
Another great tip is, I used brushes like this for the turned legs and tight areas, they worked like a dream! All those details can be such a pain when you are painting furniture, I would say that these made the job infinitely easier.
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