Farmhouse Table

This is just a quick post to give myself yet another excuse to talk about my newly redone craigslist table :)  And I thought maybe some might find it informative how I achieved it in order to try yourself. Pick up any Home Decor mag or catalog these days and there is a version of a factory made 'farmhouse' table.  But the prices?!?! OMG-and even if you can, should you? There are numerous blogs and how-to's on the web when searching for instruction.  That said, every piece turns out different no matter how well you plan it, but that is part of the fun.
So this was our old dining set we had for the previous 6 years:

Very 'clean' lines, very kid friendly and held up to 3 children so no complaints.  And I was actually considering stripping this set down to attempt the provincial/farmhouse look but then thought...nah, too much work! Lets start with a craigslist one, redo it, sell it.  Then see if this is something I wanna repeat for myself.  So I scored this one off craigs, for a mere $60:

I wish I had taken a REAL before photo, not mid-sanding, as this table was so thick with laquer and stain I can't  tell you how many times I thought I'd gotten in way over my head...but it worked!  I had to apply layer after layer of stripping agent (starting with Eco-safe brand, then resorted to the hardcore stuff ) to get the layers off but then after that, sanding was a breeze!  Here are the 3 products needed for this part of the job;

A stripping agent, (use an Eco-friendly one if you can), a puddy knife, and a power sander. Although  you could try by hand if you wanted to. 

Then I made my first attempt at a technique called 'whitewashing'. This is achieved by taking a white or ivory colored interior paint, mixing it 50/50 with water (no set rule just a guideline) and applying with a smooth lint-free rag, or a brush.  You must do this in small sections at a time going in the direction and grain of the wood because you want to then follow 20 seconds later with a dry cloth and rub in as well as soak up the excess.  Here is what mine looked like at first:

Not bad but a little 'streaky' and with this crazy Texas heat I shouldn't have done this mid-day, as it dried too fast, before I could rub it in.  But that is nap time in my house!  Momma has to work when she can :) I panicked a little, but then decided I'd take my trusty power sander and try to smooth some of it out.  I then painted the base 'Antique White' by Behr and followed the next day with a couple coats of paste wax on the body, and 3 layers of wipe on poly on the table top to seal it all.

Paste wax on legs and body, 2 coats.  Wipe-on Poly on table top, 3 coats.

I didn't do any extra distressing on the legs because I know my 3 kids will more than take care of that. I truly had every intention of selling this but the drawers are what sold me, I had to keep her!  Napkins, extra silverware right at your fingertips? Sign-me-up.  Here she be:

And just for comparison sake, there is a table sold at Pottery Barn with similar design, but selling for 1499.00...

Pottery Barn 'Norfolk" dining table

Horchow sells this beautiful 'Seaside' table, which I was pining over a looonng time,  for 1199.00;

1199.00 just for the table!  Chairs not included.

So I'd say I Frankensteined a mix of these two in a way, the best of both without the heavy hit to the pocketbook. And if 'farmhouse' or 'provincial' style dining is something you are thinking about, there are ways to achieve it with nothing more than a trip to Home Depot and scouting your local Craigslist, Goodwill or Estate sale for a worthy solid wood table. 
Thanks for reading!  Till next time...:)