Prices change all the time, so I’m listing the price it is at right now…good luck!
Bath and Body works has a coupon for in-store or online for a free item with any $10 purchase.

If you have an American Express card and you register here, on Nov 26 if you spend $25 or more at local small business they will give you a $25 credit on your statement!

“Round or square, mahogany or oak, the table is the heart of every home, the nucleus of domestic life...” ~Doris Christopher

 

UPDATE: we re-finished it again, here is the updated post.

We got our table in 2003 from the classified ads in Boise, Idaho. Remember when we used to shp from the newspaper classifieds before Craigslist?? It was $450 and our first major furniture purchase. We started out using the table with our 2 oldest girls without any leaves. 3 children later and now we use both leaves. It has been such a good, solid table to us, but she really needed a facelift. Here we go:


1. Completely sand down the existing finish on the table. This is a must so the stain will hold.  It is also a MAJOR pain in the wazoo. I hated every second. It took me about 3 hours (with plenty of interruptions) with an electric sander. It also made the decision for me not to sand the legs of the table. Down with anymore sanding! Make sure you get it bare and smooth.


2. Apply wood conditioner, wait about 15 minutes and then wipe off the excess. Then the fun part begins!

3. Apply the stain with the grain. I used three different gel stains to get the color I wanted. Let your first coat dry, then apply additional coats until your color is achieved. Here is the difference in the stained table and the sanded leaf.



It’s already looking so much better! Maybe all that blasted sanding was worth it?

4. After your stain is dry, you’ll want to protect all of your hard work! I love this finish: Zip Guard Wood Finish.  It comes in satin, it’s water based and it is tough as nails. The guys at my local hardware store recommended it and said it was stronger than poly, and it has withstood everything my kids have dished out in the past 3 months. Time will tell, but right now it gets two thumbs up from me.

UPDATE 2016: Zip Guard was okay, but I now recommend a clear lacquer in a stain finish. It’s been almost indestructible with my 5 kids (except for some spilled nail polish remover!)

Apply one coat at a time, again with the wood grain. I use a cheap brush that I can toss after the job.



You’ll want to lightly sand between the coats of protectant~I use a very fine sanding block.


Now, for our captains chairs and the bottom of the table. I decided to use the same color as our entryway: Glidden’s Olivewood.

First, you need to clean your nasty chairs.


I called in my favorite 4 yr old assistant



and we went to town with a toothbrush, some Dawn dish soap and warm water.



Then we used our paint sprayer to spray the bottom of the table and the chairs.





And here it is in the kitchen, bare and clean for just a second. The vintage blue chairs are from Craigslist and they bounce! and wipe down beautifully. and remind me of my Grandma’s.



We have family coming to town to sit around this table with us…we can’t wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving~do you know that this blog would be nothing without you? Thanks so much to each one of you that take a minute to read this crazy blog~you are a blessing to me.

Do you think the kitchen/dining table is the most important piece of furniture in your home?

*Kate also has a fantastic tutorial on staining her table…she gave me the courage to tackle mine!

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She was so right.  I should have listened.
A lovely reader named Faith Ballard wrote this on my first post about our kitchen desk chair:

“a word to the wise:  (from someone who has as many kids as you do and a passion for white and blue upholstery fabric) RUN, don't walk, to Joann's and get yourself some clear matte vinyl, and cover that sucker immediately.  Unless you plan to re-cover it every two months.”

 

* 50% off coupon at Jo Ann Fabric thru 11/18 or a 20% off your entire purchase coupon, including sale!

 

*Family Christian Stores has 40% off one item, plus .99 shipping! We love the Little People Nativity set. It looks like they pulled the code for the little people set since it was already a family value, but this Peanuts nativity set is adorable as well. Use code 126380110 to receive 40% off.

 

* Michael’s has three $10 Itunes gift cards for $25 through 11/26. In store, no coupon required.

 

* get a $5 off any purchase at Gap Kids if you sign into your Facebook, Twitter, or Google here.

 

*Amazon has some great deals: 

* one of our very favorite games $10.99

*The Original Christmas Classics $12.99

* I like to check out the Movers & Shakers in Toys to see what deals everyone is finding.

 

*Target has some great daily deals today with free shipping! Love those toy story pjs!!

*Another Target deal in store: on Black Friday, Target is going to offer an 8 gb ipod touch for $195, and you get a $40 Target gift card with the Ipod. Well, this week there is a printable coupon (click on electronics on the left of the coupons) for 10% off any Ipod, plus you’ll get a $20 giftcard (good only thru Sat). I’ll let you decide if saving $20 is worth fighting the crowds next Friday morning :)

*a printable 20% off EVERYTHING coupon for Kohls! Online and in store through this weekend.

 

There is no way I can list all the good deals out there, so if you know of a great one, let us know in the comments! My goal is to have all of my shopping done by Nov. 30 *crossing fingers!*

This is clock I got at Target on clearance from $50 down to $12.50. I just covered the faces with a paper plate and painters tape, then spray painted it the same green that I used for our letter “S” on our gallery wall.

I roughed it up with some sandpaper to try to make it look like I got it at an antique store instead of on the endcap at a big box store.