Country French Table

Table Before Refinishing

Table After Refinishing

Tables are probably the most common refinishing jobs we acquire and most of the time we refinish and stain the entire table. Sometimes we paint tables. For this table, we combined both techniques, using stain and paint to create a harmonious new look, a perfect facelift.

This table had been stored in a barn for many years until someone had started working on the top, stripping off most of the paint. The base, however, still had a few layers of paint on it. For this table there were at least two, maybe three coats of paint, which required a great deal of time to remove. Wood carving tools were used to get into the "nooks and crannies" of the surface as it was quite porous, therefore it had absorbed all the original white paint. Since the top would be stained, it was necessary to remove every spec of paint. If you don't remove all the paint, it will still be visible when you apply stain, especially dark stain as in this table, which was stained dark walnut.

Since the original casters were well worn, we replaced them with new black rubber casters. The sides and base were painted antique white, which completed the "Country French" look the customer had wanted to achieve. This table had great bones and needed a bit of creative elbow grease to bring it back to life. Mission accomplished!

We had also done a dining room set using the same technique, combining paint and stain in the same way. Check out this blog post to see that: https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2017/02/from-amish-to-amazing.html

Watertown Slide Table Era 1889-1910

Cherry Table Before

Cherry Table After

In this business you never quite know what type of project you will recieve. This was one of those projects which came with a few surprises. What you see in the left photo is a table with a hidden agenda, it extends to about ten feet and can accommodate between 3-4 leaves which makes it a huge table! Unfortunately, my customers had purchased this table without any leaves and decided to use it as is. The slide mechanism was made by the Watertown Slide Company located in Watertown, Wisconsin. Judging by the style and materials used in the table, I estimate it to be made between 1889-1910, but likely is was made in the early 1900's. (This company only made the slide mechanism for the leaves of the table, not the table itself.)

Antique Table

Table Before

Table After

This antique table belonged to a cousin's husband who obtained it
from his grandmother. He estimated it was about 100 years old. It showed its age as it was in rough shape, but with a little sanding and love, the table would be good as new. The table was made of walnut and once sanded, the wood underneath the rough finish came through. It was indeed a beautiful piece!

The legs took time because of their shape and detail, so I spent a great deal of time working on them, making sure I had removed all the old finish so that it could accept the new stain easily. This table required careful sanding because of the fluted legs, a great deal of detail. After it was sanded and stripped, I chose a walnut stain with two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane finish. Once it was done, it looked as it had 100 years ago, better than new. Needless to say, our cousin was thrilled with the table and planned on using it for years to come.