Not sure if you can turn a dud piece of trashed furniture into a one-of-a-kind trendy rustic modern pedestal dining table? Follow along as I show you what I did to revamp a $10 round wooden dining table into an eye-popping gem in our dining room and give you the inspiration to create yours too.
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After selling our 1st and moving into our 2nd house, it seemed like forever for me to find a dining table quite to my liking. Now, don’t get me wrong, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the dining table we currently have. Except maybe that it was completely wrong in every aspect for the dining room space of our new house.
Our old dining set is pub height & made for a place that had higher ceilings while we have lower ceilings in our 2nd house. You can see from the pix that our dining set is made of mostly solid wood with walnut veneer, a heavy tempered glass countertop, with 4 large slate slabs underneath, & bonded “leather” seats that peeled off easily and often with every use. It is also a contemporary style type of dining set whereas our 2nd house is currently a modern farmhouse.
The pub-height dining set is now old and dated. I know this because I remember purchasing back in 2007, yikes! 😬 Yes, it’s been that long! And I cannot bear to part with it, not that I am sentimental but because it is so large, heavy, and was expensive at the time. But that bonded leather has seen better days.
The Inspiration piece: a gorgeous 2 toned pedestal dining table from Restoration Hardware
The way I see it, I have 3 options:
- A.) I can keep it and try to salvage it, spend a little bit of money to make it look gorgeous with hopes that we can repurpose it another space or even our next house, or
- B.) I can sell it on CraigsList and use the proceeds to buy a new shorter dining set that will actually fit inside the dining room space that we have without bumping our heads on the light fixture every time we get up.
- C.) I can find a cheaper version of what I want on CL or FB marketplace (a round pedestal dining table w/chairs, if possible). For reference: if money were no object, the perfect round pedestal dining room set that I want costs around $1K. (That’s not gonna happen, no thanks. But it is fun to do a cost-comparison analysis to see how much we can save to DIY it.)
After lots of research, saving up the funds, & lots of deliberating (aka overthinking), getting frustrated, and almost giving up the notion that I can even hack this for cheaper, I found the perfect round pedestal table listed on CL for just $10 bucks! Yep-you’ve read that right- $10.00.
The Dilemma (Before): an old scratched up dark cherry/walnut stained wood pedestal dining table with great bones but icky color
So, even though it was the ugliest shade of orangey-brown wood stain (like the canned pumpkin puree you’d normally find at the stores during Thanksgiving mixed with fudge) I’ve ever seen, I tried my best to look past that to find it’s real potential. However, if I’m being 100% honest, I can truly say that if I squint really really hard, I can almost picture the large round base with it’s corrugated feet with the correct shade and colors has the potential to become a real showpiece in our dining room after I DIY it.
I justified to myself that I can completely make a mess of it. I mean, completely and utterly screw it all up, and it would still end up being cheaper than buying a brand new dining set.
Plus, I really like making messes! 😃
So, naturally, I had to go with option C.
TLDR? Grab Your Basic Tool Kit Checklist here:
Here is what you need to refinish a round wooden pedestal table:
Supplies Needed:
- 1 cup of cold water
- 2 paint brushes, one for each color
- 1 quart paint stripper
- 1 quart clear varnish sealer
- 1 jar sun bleached grey washed stain
- 1 jar semi gloss brown paint
- 4- extra plastic cups
- Work gloves
- Safety goggles
- N95 mask
- Bucket or pail of clean soapy water
- Wash rags for clean up
Materials:
- Large plastic sheeting
- 1 paint cover sheet?
- 1 paint cover bunny suit
- Clean paint clothes only for DIY projects
- Plastic expandable shoe covers
- Paint tray kit
- Plastic shopping bags
- Wire paintbrush scraper
- Plastic baggies for wet paintbrush
- Orbital sander
- Coarse sandpaper
- Medium fine sandpaper
- Metal scraper
- Metal putty knife
Sick of looking at your ugly house? Let’s Fix that!
The Solution (After): a beautifully frugal replica of the trendy rustic modern style bleached wood stained top and glossy black table base pedestal table
Let’s take 5 minutes to take care of our best asset first, that’s you! 😃Keep in mind that no project is ever worth it if it compromises your health & safety in any way. So before we begin let’s grab our gear and protect ourselves so we can tackle the project and remain in one piece for future projects later on.
Instructions To Refinish The Table Top:
1-Prep & Gear Up:
- Gear up from head to toe & cover our bases: eye goggles, mask, bunny suit or old clothes for painting, plastic shoe covers, & work gloves
- Clear out a ventilated space, like your garage or workshop
- Make sure you are working on a clean, dry surface free of dirt, debris, leaves, & dust.
- Cover the surfaces of your work area with a large plastic sheeting, a drop cloth, old newspapers, or even a tarp to protect it from the chemicals you’ll be using.
2-Strip, Scrape, & Sand:
- Wipe down the surface of the tabletop with a damp soapy wash rag to remove any dirt or debris from the table.
- Let air dry for about 1 hour.
- With a clean & dry paint brush, lightly dust off the table top so you have a clean surface to work on.
- Pour the stripper gel solution onto the countertop & wait about an hour for the solution to work effectively. You will see the stain start to bubble up from the surface of the table top.
- Scrape all off the bubbled up old stain using a metal putty knife and collect the gunk in a plastic bag to be thrown away in the trash.
- Sand the entire table top using an orbital sander & coarse sandpaper.
- Go over the entire tabletop and the edges with a medium-coarse sanding block to make sure the entire surface has been roughed up and clear of stain.
3-Stain or Paint with a Brush:
- Following the instructions on the tin can, apply the first coat of your choice of paint using a paintbrush.
- If you are using stain, then use a rag or old sock to apply a first coat of stain to the table top.
- Allow the first coat to dry for about 1 hour in between coats & decide whether or not you may need a second or maybe even a third coat.
- There is no wrong answer, it is really your own personal preference.
Instructions To Repaint The Pedestal Table Base:
1-Prep & Sand:
- Wipe down the wooden pedestal table base with a damp soapy wash rag to remove any dirt or debris from the table.
- Let air dry for about 1 hour.
- Lightly sand the entire table base & legs using a medium coarse sandpaper.
- With a clean & dry paint brush, lightly dust off all the nooks & crannies of the pedestal table base so you have a clean surface to work on.
2-DeGloss:
- Follow directions on the bottle & apply a liquid deglosser to the entire pedestal table base.
- Allow to dry completely for about 30 minutes.
3-Apply Paint & Primer In-One/Stain:
- If you are using a stain, apply a thin coat throughout the table base.
- Allow drying for about 1-2 hours per coat
- Lightly sand in between each coat
- If you are using paint, apply a paint & primer in one
- Allow drying for about 1-2 hours per coat
- Lightly sand in between each coat
4-Seal It:
- Seal the entire tabletop & base with a clear varnish.
- Allow drying for 24-48 hours or according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
CONCLUSION:
If you were not sure whether or not you can turn a dud piece of trashed furniture into a one-of-a-kind, trendy, rustic-modern pedestal dining table, then now you know that it is absolutely possible. After reading this article, I was able to show you how I refinished a $10 round wooden dining table into an eye-popping gem in our dining room. Hopefully, I was able to give you the inspiration that you need in order to recreate your own DIY project as well.
As long as you stay in the sticker shock mindset at first glance of seeing your dream piece of furniture at the store, and say, “no, not today.” Then you’re off to a great start and a heftier wallet too. The reality is, there really is a way to have your cake and eat it too without burning a huge hole in your wallet.
You can still enjoy nice things and not go into debt. You can pick up a used piece of furniture for free or cheap and customize it any way you’d like to make it even better than you last remembered seeing it at the store. At least now, you know that you won’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get the same or a similar look for a heck of a lot less! 😃
For Other Helpful Resources:
- How To Paint Old Wooden Trim White & Make Them Look New Again
- Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting My DIY Home Improvement Projects
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Create your dream home without going house poor. Find out how to do it like the Pros for less!
