Pedestal Possibilities

My friends, I've  been inspired to make some changes in my kitchen. You see, since Ryan and I were first married, we've had the same dining room table. It's dark chocolate brown, like pretty much everything else we own from the start of our wedded life together. And it's been good to us. Particularly in our old home when we desperately needed a few new things here and there, to spruce up the aging town house that was what we called home those days. fond memories :) 

Anyhoo, I'm realizing that our kitchen nook, filled with that big table and matching chairs is a little blah. Worse than blah, it's like a ghost town. Tumbleweeds, well more like Memphis fur bunnies, blow daily across it's barren and unused surface. The only time we even think about sitting down to enjoy a meal there, is when we have guests. And that just won't do. not any more. 

Enter my inspiration. Cozy pedestal dining tables, with mis-matchy chairs, inviting textures and layers, more wall interest, and hopefully in the end, a super cozy nook where we'll be more inclined to enjoy our breakfast, lunch, dinners, snacks, board games, card games, newspaper reading, blog surfing, and whatever else lends itself well to this soon-to-be-cozified space.

Image Here

Image Here

Image Here

Image Here

So, I set my sights on kijiji, Value Village, Goodwill and the like. My mission? Pedestal Possibilities. 

And, I'm happy to report Mission: Accomplished. I was really fortunate to find an ideal table rather quickly. One email to who I would later find out was a sweet, older Scottish man named Peter who lived just outside the city, and I had myself a solid oak, pedestal table for $40! Score.

The finish on the table isn't too bad, and could be left as is. But I'm not looking for the woodgrain to show. Call me crazy, but I like my furniture painted. Most of the time.

I know. I'm a wild child. 

Anyway, here are a few more details on the table itself. It's solid oak, with an extendable leaf option. The inner workings are pretty neat too. For this to surprise me, I'm thinking perhaps I'm too used to our university Ikea furniture...buuuut, when the table opens, it has gears!! Like a super sophisticated metal track system. I'll take a pic when it's all finished and set up for you to see. Pretty swank though. And for $40, how can you go wrong?

As for the table itself, it's in pretty fantastic condition. No structural issues at all. Everything is solid. The only wear and tear is scratches and scuffs. Which I'm all for when it comes to a project like this. Some edges are in good condition though.

While others are scuffed from what I imagine were many afternoons of craft-time-with-Grandma-and-Grandpa. So sweet. I love knowing that the furniture I refurbish, and make my own, comes with a story of it's own.

The pedestal itself is the part I love the  most about the table. It's so sturdy, and just ornate enough for me. without being busy or fussy. yay for balance.

So, step one was to disassemble and start sanding. Trust that I whipped out Walt, my trusty palm sander. Walt and I...we've got a good thing going on. He makes me feel so handy, when really, I'm not. 

Together, we sanded the heck out of the table, leaf and pedestal. 

And that's about where we left off with this project. Next up: priming. After that, the whole table is going to get a coat of white paint. From there, I think I'm going to attempt a soft grey, dry brushing effect over the whole thing. My attempt at a driftwood, reclaimed and beachy sort of look. Of course, I'll keep you posted about how that goes. And hopefully, relatively soon, this little pedestal beauty will be gracing our kitchen nook :)