Rustic Dining Table Make-Over

I have been dying to make-over our dining room table for so long now. In fact, my mom started the process by stripping the stain off of the table top about 10 years ago, but the project just never got finished. This table is probably 60 years old. My grandmother got it from a friend back in the early 1950's, so this table has been through a lot. It was in my mom's home when she was a child, was my family's dining table for much of my childhood, and now sits in my own dining room. Yet, it still never felt just right. First, we were going to paint the legs and stain the table top. Then, we were going to paint the whole thing - maybe red, maybe gray, maybe teal. Then, I saw this tutorial from Our Vintage Home Love on Pinterest and swooned for months over their dining room reveal before we actually got up the nerve to try it. But, our wonderful Pacific Northwest summer is coming to an end and I didn't know how much longer we would have before the rain, so we just dove in. I am SO HAPPY with the result. Take a look for yourself.

First, we removed the rounded, hinged sides to the table, creating a rectangle base. Then we primed with Kilz spray primer and finished it off with a few light coats of a creamy white spray paint. This seriously took no time at all - I was very surprised.


Next, we distressed the legs a bit. I really did want a rustic, worn look, and thanks to some 220 grit sand paper, that's what we got.

Finally, we got 3 - 2" x 8" x 12' boards from Lowes. I think we found them in the decking section, just like they did on Our Vintage Home Love. Our boards cost about $7 each. We took advantage of the "we cut for free" policy at Lowes and had them cut each of the boards down to 6' in length. We stained the boards with a dark walnut stain and then put them together with a cross beam (that's what you call it, right?) on each end.

All in all, this was a very easy project that only took us a few hours. I am 100% satisfied with the results and am a little bit sad that we waited this long. Thanks for the idea and tutorial, Our Vintage Home Love!!

Now all I can think about is making over some dining room chairs...