Kitchen Table Upgrade

If I had to nominate one piece of furniture that serves as our home's primary workhorse for eating and congregating and working, it would be our kitchen table.  This summer I assessed its condition honestly: scratches from years of use, Sharpie marker scribbles from an unsupervised craft time, deeply embedded stains from spilled drinks, and a piece of Scotch tape that had become one with the tabletop and remained affixed no matter how often I scratched at it with my fingernail.

In short, it was a typical kitchen table belonging to a family with kids, one that prompts a mother to think sandblasting it would be more effective than wiping it down with another Clorox wipe.

And that's the very thought that spurred my total kitchen table overhaul earlier this summer.  My husband helped me carry the table outside where I used a power sander to strip the old finish and reveal the bare wood.

I can't underestimate how satisfying this process was.  Crusted Play-Doh and Kool-Aid stains are no match for a woman with determination and a palm sander.

After thoroughly sanding all remnants of the old yellow finish and wiping the table free of dust, I applied Rust-Oleum Wood Stain in Driftwood, a cool-toned gray hue, allowing ample drying time between applications.  Two coats might have sufficed, but since I prefer more opaque coverage, I added a third coat before sealing the table with two protective coats of polycrylic finish. 

When the table was returned to our kitchen, I basked for a moment at its pristine condition.  But only for a moment.

 

Because, as we know, no space remains pristine for long.  It's the kitchen table, after all, and real life takes place there.