Take a design risk!

Last year when we visited my parents, I went to a cute little consignment shop to look at a table my mom scoped out. We were searching for a square 6 seat-er in lieu of our round 4 seat-er. It was an antique pub table and it came with 4 chairs. I loved it - dark wood, strong base - chairs were hideous but I could fix those. They just needed some glue (they were a little wobbly) and some new fabric. Daniel on the other hand thought everything was too old but was kind enough to indulge me. Sold! You see, I don't always like new. Refinishing or refurbishing often times has more character. Plus it's usually cheaper.

We've lived with it for awhile just as it was (well I recovered the seats of the chairs at least). Unfortunately, the chairs bit the dust very quickly so we bought some new ones at Goodwood when they were going out of business. Again, we lived with them (unfinished) for a while. About a month ago I decided it was time to do something with them. No more procrastinating what seemed like a daunting task. So I started with staining the bench and chairs that were completely unfinished (I was still too scared to touch the table). I used General Finishers gel stain in Java.

That took me pretty much all weekend since it took two coats of stain for each chair (4 in total) and the bench. Then once again, we lived with it. I was a little disappointed that the stain was so matte looking although it said it was more satin-y. But the color matched the table perfectly. Then the table started to look like this...

And the chairs started to look like this...

Note to self: clean from under high chairs more often.

Well after much back and forth in my head (what? that's normal, right?) I decided it was time to tackle the table. When we first purchased the table I contacted someone who specialized in refinishing and painting furniture. He freaked me out by telling me that the table could have oils and finishes on it that wouldn't accept other stains, etc. So I was too scared to do it myself. But he charged $250 to do it. Hmmm...let me think on that. Yep, I'll take the risk and do it myself. What did I have to lose?

I decided this weekend, since we had no major plans Friday night or Saturday, that it was time for me to finish this project once and for all...and tackle the dreaded table. Plus I couldn't live with that gaping bare spot anymore and the food smattering the chairs were getting to be too much. (how do toddlers manage to smear food everywhere!?)

I started by sanding the top of the table then just took the risk and applied the stain. It went on perfectly. I applied two coats so it was even and also touched up the chairs. But it was still missing something. And I'm not talking about the smudges you see in this picture...

Those smudges are from where Charlie decided it would be fun to climb on the table. Really!? I promise I do watch him but he's a sneaky little booger. One second he was just walking around and the next second he was on top of the table giggling. Thankfully you can't see them now.

But I digress..while the table was nice and even now in color, it still lacked the special "umph" I was looking for. Before I tackled this I did what all women do, I asked everyone their opinion. Almost everyone told me to just keep the chairs and tables one simple color (stained) because that would match anything down the road. (sigh) I just wasn't convinced.

So when I was at my mom's I told her my dilemma. She said "you know what I say? go with what makes you happy. you can always paint over it if you don't like it later."   BINGO! That was just the push I needed.

Because we have two little ones, we can't really use table cloths or place mats with them unless they are plastic and wipe easily. I wanted something that looked like a table cloth without having to clean it constantly. I decided to stencil a pattern on the table. Here's what I used...

I chose the stencil on the left because of it's lacy feel and rounded edges. The table is square so something round would soften the table rather than make it harsher. The General Finishers milk paint in Red Pepper was something I purchased at Goodwood because it was a unique red/orange color that you can't always find. Figured I could use it at some point. Viola! The stencil was only a few bucks at Hobby Lobby as was the roller.

I didn't tape anything or space anything perfectly. I let my imagination and eye be the guide to the layout of the stencil. I learned quickly that just a little paint is best so that the stencil is crisp.

The first few turned out like this...

See how it is mushy looking and the edges aren't very crisp? As I went along, I got better. But what about the three that looked bad? I remembered I had wipes and thought "huh, wonder if they will take off the bad stencils?" A part of me worried that it would also take off the stain but I thought it might be worth the risk. Ever usedthis stuff - Goof Off?

It's a miracle worker! It took the paint off no problem and took off just a tiny amount of stain, not even enough to need retouching. Look, it even says "The Miracle Worker" on the label!

I removed the first three stencils, now referred to as my practice stencils (maybe not so smart to practice on the actual project? Probably should have thought that out a little more) and painted over them. Now they all look like this...

See how much crisper the stencil looks now? Almost like I stamped it on. And when I finished the table this is what it looked like...

Then I decided to incorporate a little something on the bench...

The bench seats three so I placed three fleur de lis on the top. And the chairs...

Each one has a stencil in the indention where you sit. And you can see how they all play off of each other...

I love the color and patterns but I was still left with the dullness of the stain. Plus I knew from my procrastination that the stain didn't hold up well to food and cleaning up from messy toddlers. Did you know spaghetti sauce can eat away the stain? Neither did I until I found a spot I missed at some point over the past year. I toyed with wax but in the end went with polyurethane for it's durability. I chose a semi-gloss finish. The guy at Lowe's told me that satin would be best for scratch-ability but gloss is best for cleaning. I went half and half and hope I get the best of both worlds. One coat on everything and two coats on the table top, chair seats and chair backs since those see the most wear and tear. I do recommend letting it sit overnight or longer once the final coat is applied so that all tackiness is gone.

In the end, I couldn't be happier. It's exactly what I wanted. Bright, unique and it offers the table a little "je ne sais quoi" (French for "I don't know what" or something special). It isn't every one's style but it's mine and I love that I followed my gut and took the risk.

By the way, those vases are my new color choices. Every where I see green, orange or turquoise/aqua blue, I flock. I've always loved blue and orange together so perhaps in our next house I'll incorporate all these colors together for a brighter splash of color.

Just goes to show, taking design risks can pay off! When was the last time you took one?