Check out my bright and sunny new kitchen table and chairs! The chairs were my birthday present and were such a tough choice! I looked everywhere online. Ordered silver ones from Target and returned them because they were so short they went under the table when pushed in. They I ordered aged yellow chairs online and canceled that order before it shipped. Finally, I found orange ones on Amazon and have loved them since I hit submit! My table was another story...
We first bought this table and chairs in 2012 and I loved it. But, the black tabletop became a nightmare. It showed EVERYTHING. Every crumb in the fold down cracks. Every smudge of food not cleaned off. And, eventually, every fork poke and scratch. I couldn't get it clean to save my life.
So, two years ago, I used some chalk paint and made it a clean and crisp ivory. It was good for a few months and then with a scratch or fork poke (seriously, I should figure out how to make my child stop poking the table!) the paint came off and the black came through. Once again, it looked dirty all the time. No matter what I did.
So, I grabbed a sander, some coarse sanding sheets and went to town on the tabletop. I had no idea what the wood would look like underneath. I had no idea how long it would take or if I could break the seal of the black paint it came with. I also had no idea it was red underneath the black. Holy moly I sanded for days.
And I discovered this gem. Real wood in good condition. This is the wood after being wiped down with a wet paper towel. When dry, it was pretty dull. I knew I wanted low maintenance and sealing it was going to be necessary. I asked my Instagram followers what I should do next and a grey stain with white wash with the overall vote. Back to Lowe's I went!
I selected a Minwax Weathered Grey stain and applied it and wiped it with a lint-free cloth. They sell bags of them for cheap.
After it dried, I went back over that with a 50/50 mixture of Annie Sloan Cream chalk paint and water. Again, using my rags I rubbed it on and wiped it off.
Finally, to keep it looking the same after lots of wear and tear, I used a satin polycrylic by Minwax and applied 6 coats with a paintbrush. This provided a even minimal shine, seals everything in to prevent drink rings and give it the professional finish I was after. I kept the base black as originally purchased.
It is a fun new spot for dinner conversation with my family. Speaking of, we've added Jesus Calling for Kids to the supper table. It is a simple kid-friendly devotional that we do over dinner. I love reading it with Abby and then processing it with her. Last night we talked about how God is always good, but no one else is ALWAYS good. It allowed us to talk about needing Jesus when we aren't good and sin and giving grace to others when they aren't good. I highly recommend it at the dinner table.
Two other things I am loving right now- silicone muffin cups for my Mix and Match Egg Muffins. Cleaning the muffin pan before these cups was a pain. So easy now!
Finally, I'm loving my new Blue Jean candle. It is springy with citrus and greens and clean with musk and patchouli. Loving it!
Happy Spring!
