Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain table

Oh – you guys, i am SO excited to show you my transformed table!  I love it so much and after wanting to make the change for a couple years, am so glad i finally did it!

It was a fairly easy re-do with a big impact, i dont know why i waited so long!

Anyways – its done now :)

This is the last pic i took of my table.  It was a good decent table that wasnt exactly cheap so i just didnt want to get rid of it, plus i really like the lines of the chairs.  But what i hated so much besides it being black, was the table top.  It had all these lines in it to mimic wood planks and trying to keep it clean (on top of being black) was a nightmare.

Plus the black was so heavy and just didnt flow with my room – i can tell now in looking at the 2 pics, how much changing it to white really helps make my space look the way i want it too :)

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain table

I really wanted the look of a farmhouse table, and unfortunately my black table top had some MDF mixed in, so i wasnt able to just sand it down and stain that, it had to be replaced.

When i had my “great clean out“, i took the top off the table and sold it.  I kept the chairs, bench and table legs.  They all sat in the basement a couple of weeks until i had the chance to paint it one weekend.

I painted the base of the table and all the chairs in a high gloss finish, with no distressing.  The top was made from stock lumber from lowes.

I got 3 different sizes for the top, 2 2×8’s, 2 2×10’s and 2 2×12’s (all 8ft lengths, i just cut off 1ft to get the right length) – i just wanted a more casual “pieced together” look so thats why i did the different sizes.  For all 6 pieces of wood, i only paid about $55

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain table

To give the wood a little character, i used lots of little tools to add lots of dings and dents to the wood.  A hammer (using both sides), a razor blade to scrape off a lot of the edges and make big grooves in the edges, a phillips and flat head screwdriver for making small holes and dents, and different size screws for making various other marks in the table (just lay the screw flat and hammer it into the wood).

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

After i did lots of distressing, i used a 220 grit sandpaper on my orbital sander and smoothed the wood out.  I was very careful on this step as i didnt want any lifting wood.  Splinters suck big time.

After the wood was sanded, i used my vinegar and steel wool concoction that i posted about here to stain the table.  I ended up doing just 2 coats of the vinegar to stain the wood.  I did this method rather than using a traditional stain because its super easy and i did a test on a scrap beforehand and it turned out to be the perfect color.

After it was dry, i went over the wood again with the 220 sandpaper to smooth it out one last time.

After bringing in the top and before attaching it all together, i gave the wood several coats of Howards Feed n’ Wax – this stuff is awesome!  It really gave the wood the look i was going for and it brought out all the distressing i did, as well as the pretty natural features in the wood.  Who knew that stock lumber could look so awesome?!

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

You can see in this pic below, just how much the wax changes the wood.  In real life, the unwaxed piece of wood in the front was really gray.  The Howards wax turned it to just the right shade of warm brown/gray.

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

After everything was waxed, i attached the table with strips of wood underneath the table – sorry i forgot to take a pic!  Its just 5 strips of 1×2’s spaced evenly under the table and then those are screwed in from underneath.  I ended up doing it this way because it was easy, and i didnt want to glue them together in case we ever need to move the table.  The top is super heavy!!  There were a few metal brackets that the old table top was attached with and those were used as well to secure the top to the table.

And just look at her now – so pretty!!  I cant get over it…i LOVE it tons!

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

I had bought a new jute rug to go under the table, but now that the table is white, im really loving the contrast with the floor.  So i think im just going to go rugless for now.

And i am loving bringing in some natural wood, it makes the space feel cozier :)

It looks perfect with my EAT sign…

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

Here are a few close up’s of the wood…

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

By the way, i just got those enamel containers from Ikea, just $12 for the pair!  I super love them and am going back for more :)

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

I also took the arm rests off my bench – i hated those stupid things!  So hard for people to get in and out of the table!

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain wood

And one last after pic…

Sweet Pickins - using steel wool to stain table

The 411

Paint color on chairs/table (and cabinets) – Ben Moore Mascarpone (i had mine mixed up by Sherwin Williams)

Stain used for table top – Homemade mixture of vinegar and steel wool, i posted about that here.  And Howards Feed n’ Wax (i have done about 4 coats and i think thats good, i let them dry for a day inbetween)

Super cute blue enamel containers – Ikea

Fun pillows on bench – TJ Maxx

My completely awesome EAT sign – posted about here.  You can buy one here.

My wall color – Sherwin Williams Repose Gray @ 125%

Table/chairs originally bought from Vintage Oak in SLC, UT

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Watcha think?!  I know that i am LOVING it :)

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