Distressed Dining

Before I even moved into this house I knew I wanted to refinish my table and chairs.  My husband offered to buy me a table, but I wanted to keep my old one.  This table was my mother's before she moved out of the country.  She loved the table so much, and it took her so long to get it that I did not want to part with it.

My Mother's beloved table.

(as you can see, I already painted the legs)

The problem with my mother's dining set was that the chairs had all broken.  The chairs I had in my old apartment were a completely different color. 

Here is the chairs before.

The detail work.

What I liked about them was the detail at the top.  So I decided  to paint the whole set (one table with two inserts, and six chairs) off white.  

It took me almost all summer and at least six coats of paint and two coats of sealer, but they are done (Almost, I actually have not finished the table, but I'm letting life distress it for a while).  I painted and sanded each chair.  It was so much work that I ended up buying a hand sander in the end.

This is the chairs before I distressed them.

The chair after much "distressing."

 

 It was a LOT of work, but so worth the finished (almost) dining room . 

The Final Product!

This was my vision (minus a lopsided and off-center chandelier)!  I can see thanksgiving dinner at this table already.