Our KMart Table Makeover

My husband bought this table just before we were married (9 years ago) and I've never been a fan. But it was what we could afford and we needed a place to eat. We got the table at KMart and the chairs at Target. Or maybe it was vice-versa but who cares. I have been wanting a new table and chairs for.ev.er! The yucky light wood is hideous and I've wiped the top so much that the clear coat was almost gone. But of course all the tables of my dreams cost $1500 or more. We could probably spend $1500 on a new table (plus whatever chairs cost) but when we move every 1-3 years for the next decade, I'm sure my precious new table and chairs would get beat all to hell, if the kids don't get to it first.

So I decided to sorta kinda remodel our table.

Oh and buy new chairs (Better Homes and Gardens on Walmart.com, $39 each, no tax, no shipping costs to your local store)

So I took off the old yucky top and painted the bottom of the table and legs black (Valspar Dark Kettle Black). Then I followed the Farmhouse Table Plan from Ana-White.com to make the planked pine top using 1x8s and 1x6s. Her plan is for a longer table so I adjusted the lengths of my boards to keep our new table about the same size as our old one. Her plan calls for 2x6s and 2x8s and I used 1-bys because I didn't want the table top too thick.

After lots and lots and lots of sanding, I stained the top with Minwax Dark Walnut oil-based wood stain (used a wood conditioner first) and then 3 coats of Semi-Gloss Polyurethane. I love love love the rustic farmhouse look of it. I'm even considering going back and roughing up the black paint and the chairs for a distressed look but I may just save myself the trouble and let the kids do that over time.

The project took bits and pieces of my free time over the last week, about 10 hours total. And the total cost of all the wood, primer, paint, stain, poly, screws, sandpaper, etc was just under $100. Much better than my dream table from Pottery Barn. And when we have to move again and the movers destroy it, I won't care all at........

.....okay, I'll be insane with anger! Maybe we'll be moving this guy ourselves.

So those are the pretty pictures, here is what my house really looks like on a regular basis...

You see that little guy in the left corner? That's our dog. He thinks it's perfectly fine to sleep on my fleece lined hoodie.

And I let him, cause he just looked so cute. Man, he needs to be groomed. I have to go clean my house now and shave the dog. Hope you enjoyed my table makeover as much as I did!