Family Heirlooms

My husband's late grandmother moved in with her daughter before passing away last year. As much as we wanted to buy her house, there was so much stuff to have to do to it and we just didn't have the funds. He spent a lot of time there as a little boy growing up and learning about life so he has happy memories of that old house. We hope the new owners love that house as much as he did.

Last spring, they were cleaning out her things. They were giving away her furniture and whatever else she did not want. I asked to have her table and chairs and a small white dresser that went into her bathroom. The table and chairs were special to me as well: my late uncle used to sit and talk to Maw (Kelly's grandmother) when he was in town. My family knew my husband's family since my mother and his mother were kids and my uncle loved Maw like his own mother.

I have always loved this style of chair!

This was before I got a hold of it. The orange stain on the tabletop was so dated.

We took turns sanding the tabletop down to the raw wood. It was a complete and total job! There were dings and divots on that tabletop that gave it history and charm, so they stayed.

After sanding and sanding, cleaning and cleaning...I first applied Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner on the bare wood to ensure an even coat. After being wiped and dried for a few minutes, I then applied Mixwax Gel Stain in Coffee. This stuff has a working time of fewer than five minutes. This is not your old stain that you can wipe, let sit and go back and wipe off. I recommend working small sections at a time (my own learning experience!)

One coat did the trick for this tabletop. The cool thing about gel stains is that it sits on top of the surface and gives it an even coverage for the most part. This old top looked TOO finished with two coats and I wanted history to show through, so I wiped off the second coat so I could see the wood grain. Let it dry for about 2 days minimum since it is oil-based.

I painted the base and chairs in Kilz Chalk Style Decorative Paint Toasted Poppyseed and finished with several coats of Polycrylic.

This is the after. This table looks so rich and farmhouse-y. It could honestly fit in any decor, but I love the simplicity of it. Maw was thrilled with the way it looked and I hope we can pass it down as heirlooms to our grandchildren someday!