This has been one of my favorite furniture flips! I may be biased but this shabby chic inspired kitchen table turned out gorgeous! I had a hard time letting it go, but sadly this piece was done for somebody else. Can you believe this piece was somebody’s trash at some point in time, just left on the side of the road to be picked up by someone?

Luckily someone did pick it up & saw some potential in it…and I got to be the lucky person to eventually transform this beauty so it could be treasured a few more years by a family I know. Here is what I was working with…the famous BEFORE pics:

 

*The following blog post contains affiliate links to things I have personally used during this project so that you can find them easily!

PREP WORK: I quickly got to work on the chairs by giving them a good cleaning (broke out the tooth brush – not mine :P) filled any holes with wood filler, tightened or replace any loose screws & last gave them a light sanding. Next the table legs and base got a light sanding. All of these got a light sanding because they were going to be painted with chalk paint which doesn’t require as much prep if you were going to use a different type of paint. The table top & 3 leaves on the other hand got the crap sanded out of it! THIS was the hardest & most time consuming part of the entire project. I believe this particular table has a wood veneer on it, so you have to sand enough to get down to the bare wood BUT you have to be careful not to sand thru the veneer! (been there, done that, learned from it). Sometimes you don’t know what you are going to find underneath but I was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful look underneath when bare. Something about it made me proud & a sense of accomplishment. If you’ve ever sanded before you know that sanding is NO JOKE! I filled a few holes & scratches with this. Prep work sucks, but it’s totally necessary & my motto is “work smarter, not harder”. Don’t forget to use wood conditioner before staining to ensure even stain results.

The owner picked out the stain color in Golden Pecan and the color for the base of the table and chairs in this lovely blue/grey tone like Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg Blue that I fell in love with and can’t wait to use again! I used Trousseau Blue in Valspar Chalky Paint that you can get at Lowe’s. I’ve used this chalk paint on several projects like my thrift store desk makeover and love it! I highly recommend using a paint sprayer like mine for chairs instead of hand painting them!Here’s what they looked like before sealing, distressing, & antiquing:

The chairs & table base were lightly distressed using a fine grit sand paper. I then sealed them with a clear wax. Once that dried I used the antique wax over them. This product is way cool. It can scare the crap out of you at first like “Oh my goodness WHAT have I done?!) but I assure you if you use it correctly it comes out super neat and antique looking just like it’s supposed to! But if you like your project crisp and clean then this product is not for you. Work quick, don’t leave it on long enough to dry before wiping it off, you’ve been warned!

When it was all said & done, the table top got 2-3 coats of stain & 3 coats of sealer. The table base & chairs got 2 coats of paint & 2-3 coats of clear/antique wax. The last thing to do was attach the pads which I recovered in fabric of owner’s choice to the chair bases. All the chair & table legs got new little pads underneath to protect the floor. She’s such a BEAUTY! Special thanks to the owner for putting trust in me to do this! I am now on the hunt to find another project for my own home or for someone else!

Have you flipped a kitchen table & chairs? I’d love to see! Comment below if you love this set or have any questions!