What I thought would sound normal to my husband came to him as a jolt. His first reaction was "You have gone crazy". I agree, I am crazy but a sound of restriction to my idea is never good. I will make sure I get my way through it. So, what exactly lead to this reaction. I said I wanted to give a makeover to our dining table, which by the way is already perfect to my husband (and may be to the rest of the world).
I know, I totally hear your reaction. Thanks for all those who support my makeover decision :)
Speaking of perfect, it is so subjective and relative to every viewer. Well I'll give you that it is relatively new (we bought it 6 months ago) but it sure wasn't perfect to me. If it's not my liking then its not perfect - so simple.
For all those who are thinking like my husband, I really don't have any substantial reasoning to convince you.
I read this somewhere around my vicinity, it said - "some minds are like concrete, they are already mixed up and set" - So if your mind is already set I really don't think I would try to explain myself.
Probably the same saying applies to me too (in a positive way). You see I am determined :)
So, we (I) bought this dining table online after my husband gave his specifics about his liking and budget. After multiple searches finally we agreed on the one that we bought.I always wanted a glass top one for the formal dining area and my husband wanted a solid wood just like the one in Biju's house (one of our friend). I had a different taste than his of course. But since I got to do the chairs according to my liking, I had to give in for the table choice. When the piece arrived, as usual the online blunder surfaced. The wood stain was not what I was expecting to see. I liked the style but the color looked very non-contemporary (don't want to say traditional). Right away I knew either we (I) will disown the table soon or I will have to update with a tint of my choice.
After watching ton of videos and reading blogs I dared to venture into my very own staining project. I knew I was risking what I already had with my inexperience. But I had to go for it. With my husbands help we disassembled the table and moved it into the garage. We bought the needed supplies from Home Depot (A home improvement store). Then the grueling process of sanding started. My idea was to just take off the varnish shine and not go to the bare wood.It's almost near to impossible to get to bare wood if I was going to sand it by hand. Half way through sanding I realized I may have messed up the whole piece by putting more effort than what is required. I scratched around rather rubbing it along the wood grain (despite knowing the no# 1 rule of sanding at the onset). Well, there is nothing you can do about it, the harm is already done and so I had no choice now but to keep going.
It took me about a total of 2 hours to sand down - (pitched in at different times), I gave the 1st coat of stain (after cleaning the dust of course). I hated it more than ever. Pssstt...I sure did start to doubt my decision and even called it quits and started to search for a new dining table online (again). But my dear darling husband (who was unsupportive at the beginning) did not take this opportunity to nitpick on me.
Instead he encouraged - gave me a pep talk, hugged me and asked me to finish what I started. He gave me hope that the second coat might give what I am looking for.
After my second coat voila, I did it. I brought back life into the table (and also myself). Now it has the finish (close enough) that I was aiming for. I was even able to cover-up the scratches too (most of it). Finally things worked out (I want to think).
So what did I learn through this - Well I learned a lot of things (and so did my husband), here are some:
1) Even-though you may use a brush to do the staining, it is still staining and not painting. It takes time for the the stain to set in (normally 24hrs between every coat). So be patient.
2) Most every DIY project will have some flaws (especially when done by a novice). Majority of the times there will be someway to patch it up. Bing/Google it.
3) we spent 400$ (Cost of the table) + 50$ (On the makeover supplies) to bring it to my liking. If we would have spent a little more time and if I had exhibited the same patience that I showed in my sanding, may be we (I) could have bought a table that had the style and stain to my liking for the same cost. But I would have never learnt the art of staining and put my very own hand stamp on it - feeling accomplished - which is "Priceless" :)
And what did my husband learn? The answer is ....................... well you all know! :)
Here are some pictures for you and the final updated look of my dining.
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