I Live in a small community where everyone knows your name! My friend Angela who owns a property management company offered this solid table and chair set to me for FREE when a tenant moved out and left it. When I first saw it and felt the quality and pure heaviness, I knew this would be a great piece to refinish.
I painted this piece a few years ago Way before there were so many chalk paint finish products on the market. I am too frugle to pay 40.00 a quart for paint so I made my own. I read countless articles on making your own furniture paint on line and again watched You Tube videos. I used the recipe that calls for flat furniture paint, calcium carbonate and warm water. I didn't sand it, didn't prime it at all. I used a foam cabinet roller and some paint brushes from the Dollar Tree for the base coat. I also added Floetrol to the paint which eliminates brush and roller marks. I always use paint from the OOPS section at lower where a $40 gallon of paint is about $10 or less. Then I can mix those if needed to the desired shade.
After a few layers of paint came the waxing. I have only found one antique wax that I love and that is the antique wax from Annie Sloan. I used the paint brushes from the Dollar Tree and a washcloth to apply wax all over the table and chairs. Then came the fun part of distressing. I used a small sander with a 40 grit sandpaper to distress the edges. I then let it dry and added a satin Polycrylic over the table top for protection. To recover the chairs I purchased the fabric from Joanns and recovered the seat cushions. Now I'm not a upholsterer so I simply stapled the fabric over the existing seat backs and covered the staples with trim. If you have ever wanted to paint your existing furniture take the chance and do it! There are so many tutorials and resources on line to get you started!
You can practice by getting a small end table at your local thrift store! I wish I could have kept this beauty for my own but at the time we were packing and selling our house and I had to sell it! I hope the family will enjoy many family dinners for years to come at this beautiful table!