A new client of mine, Melissa from St. George, Ontario, sent this farmhouse dining set over to my studio along with a buffet and hutch that I will share over the next few days. As dining room sets go, this is certainly one of the most beautiful and ornate pieces that I have ever seen. It’s solid wood made of oak and it had certainly seen better days. Melissa inherited it from her mother and had decided to finally take the plug and have it painted and updated.
Melissa wanted something light and bright but also to give the table top a farmhouse/barn board look. I suggested Minwax Classic Grey deep penetrating Stain for the top and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White for the apron and legs of the dining table.
I started by chemically stripping and sanding the surface of the table. I prefer a gel based chemical stripper simply because of the consistency and viscosity of the gel. It can be easily applied with a chip brush leaving the surface consistently wet. The biggest problem with liquid strippers is that they dry out quickly.
Quick Tip: To minimize drying of chemical strippers, after application, cover the surface with a plastic bag/film to reduce evaporation/drying, allowing the stripper to do its job.
Because of the inherent properties of oak, the grain is extremely open and allows the stain to penetrate deeply so many coats of stain were used to get this finish. I just love the way the grain shows through and lends itself so well to the farmhouse/ barn board look. To seal the surface I used Minwax Wipe On Poly.
The apron and base of this dining table received three good coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. Now because the wood is so porous and oak tends to bleed through I applied a coat of spray on Shellac to minimize this from happening. Distressing with 150 grit sandpaper is where the magic happens. This is truly the step that gives it that farmhouse shabby chic look. I like to high light all those lovely edges and ornate raised bits.
As a final sealer/ protectant for the chalk paint, a good coat of Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax was applied and buffed to a perfect shine.
We paired the dining table up with a set of Jacobean style dining chairs to match. I had updated, painted and reupholstered them and they were initially what Melissa wanted to pair up with her dining table. The chairs she had that matched were too far gone to be repaired so she purchased this set to match the dining table.
What a statement this farmhouse dining set will make in Melissa’s dining room!
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