Some people look forward to summer and can't wait for their vacations, BBQ's, and flip flops. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that too, BUT, come on, you can't anticipate summer without getting excited about Garage Sale Season!! I LOVE garage sales. I'll admit, I do get some anxiety as I walk up to a strangers house and start to snoop around their items. It always becomes a little awkward when you realize that there is only junk, and that you are not going to buy anything. My mind always races and tries to think of a polite excuse so as not to offend them, do you think anyone actually gets offended? Maybe not. I mean, they were the ones trying to get rid of it in the first place. Anyways...
This past Summer I stumbled across this:
I KNEW as soon as I saw it, buried under books, and other odd ends, that it was a true TREASURE! So $20 later, after some sunburn, and precious moments of letting my sons find their own treasure, we gleefully headed home with this one of a kind find.
Once it was home, and I could properly inspect it, I quickly realized I may have over judged my ability to restore such a table. Truth be told, this table was a hot mess, it would need way more than a quick sanding and a coat of paint.
I know, It looks pretty bad.
BUT, I was not going to be defeated.
So I did what everyone else would have done too, and quickly got on FB Marketplace to buy my first power tool! An Orbital Sander.
To say that I sanded a lot would be a complete understatement. I sanded, and sanded, and sanded, until my hands would shake on their own after stopping. Here is a recap of my restoration process:
I stripped the remaining veneer on the top of the table.
I then removed 2 planks from the top that had become distorted and uneven from aging. I had to custom cut 2 Poplar boards to replace the old ones with.
I sanded the entire table top ( this took me a couple of months to do, as it was now middle of winter until I got to this point. There is only so much sanding in the freezing garage all bundled up, that a girl can take)
I used J-B Weld Kwik Wood to reshape the broken leg. It definitely looked like a dog took a bite out of it. I would love to know the story behind that.
Then I had to hand sand the whole base of the table since it was so intricately shaped. Talk about a LABOR OF LOVE!
At this point I was no longer loving the table and wanted to trash the whole thing. So I took a break.
Spring came around and I crawled out of hibernation to continue with the restoration.
I continued to sand, and sand, and sand, some more.
Once the sanding was complete I painted the base with a semi gloss white paint.
I wanted to keep the top of the table as natural as possible to respect the original wood. I loved the eclectic and authentic look that it had so all I did was use an Orange Oil and Beeswax mix to wax the top and give it the protection that it needed.
I looked at it, and loved it! And then continued to look at it, some more, and more, and admire that MY HANDS actually restored this table!
Here is the final product!!!
and here is a quick reminder of what it looked like before:
The amount of work, sweat, tears, and love poured into this table was all worth it. I learned a LOT during the process. I am not sure if I am ready to take on such an intricate project again like this, but I am so thankful for the experience and the muscles that I gained sanding that table down. I never did find out much of the story behind this table. I love to imagine all the families that must have sat down to eat here, all the talks, and belly laughs, and all the years that it just sat vacant, waiting for its beauty to be restored.
The total cost of my project was:
$20 Table $6 Kwik Wood $ 21 Semi Gloss white paint $ $20 Orbital Sander $ 8 Beeswax
Total: $75
I would love to see some of your amazing garage sale flips, and if anyone knows the history behind this style of table please share with me!
LC
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