Dining Room Refresh - The Table, Part One

I've spent the past week and a half furiously working on my favourite kind of upcycling project.  I was asked by a couple to help them with a major part of their dining room facelift: refinishing their dining table and its six chairs.  The set is of great significance because it's a family treasure, but the old finish had a green-ish hue wasn't exactly loved and there were also some damaged spots on the tabletop.  All said, a perfect candidate for upcycling!     

The tabletop will be sanded smooth and stained a deep, rich colour to really bring out the beautiful wood grain.  The very ornate base of the table will be primed and painted a wrought iron black.  In addition to the pieces I'm currently working on, there are two sideboards that complete this set which are similarly detailed.  I felt that everything all together might be too busy, so suggested painting this one part, and happily the owners agreed!   Here's the table before:

And here's a preview of the table now - the top has been sanded and given two coats of Minwax's Red Mahogany stain, and the base has been primed and is ready for painting.  This table has been completely refreshed already, and it's not even finished yet... it even looks great in my dusty barn workshop!  I can't wait to show off the finished product.

Stay tuned for the completely finished product and for a post dedicated to refinishing the six chairs... with all that detailed carving, it's been quite a process!