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Hello all! If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have seen my most recent Facebook Marketplace find, a $40 fireplace mantel.
I originally had a different mantel for a few weeks in my living room (also from marketplace) but it just wasn’t exactly what I wanted and was a bit too large for the space. I sold that one for quite a bit more than I paid and actually made money off of it, so it was worth trying it out!
When this mantel popped up on marketplace for only $40, I knew I could make it work! I wanted one that didn’t stick out from the wall as much in case I ever wanted to move the couch in front of it and this one was much thinner than the other one.
I also wanted it to have a distressed, aged look to it. I have painted furniture with chalk paint in the past and distressed it, so I knew how to get the look that I wanted.
I painted this indoors since it was winter and too cold to do it outdoors or in the garage. I think chalk paint has less of a smell than interior latex paint and I painted it in a large room. However, always make sure your space is well-ventilated or paint outdoors if possible.
After the paint was completely dry, I simply hand sanded the areas I wanted distressed. The chalk paint comes right off and gives a perfectly distrsssed look!
I’m loving how it turned out! I think it’s perfect for the space and exactly what I envisioned. I can’t wait to style it different ways through the seasons! This project was so simple.
Let me know what you think in the comments section below! Would you try something like this for your home?
I finally got around to painting and distressing my antique buffet table! I’ve always wanted a white buffet and now this one is a perfect focal point for our back living area.
This antique buffet was a Facebook Marketplace find. I originally had a tv stand that I found at a liquidation store, and although it was beautiful and sturdy, it wasn’t solid wood or very unique. I had been on the lookout for a buffet to refinish for quite some time, but they can be pricey. When I found this one for along with the huge hutch I refinished in my dining room for $75 each on marketplace, I was thrilled! I sold my other tv stand for $140 and ended up with two solid wood antique pieces instead of one manufactured piece of furniture.
While the black wasn’t terrible, it was too dark for the room. We are refreshing our back living area right now and the white just brightens up the space. The photo below is what it looked like in our living room once we brought it home.
First, I painted the whole thing with two coats of Rustoleum Chalked Paint in Linen White. I used a regular angled paint brush.
Then, I took a couple of pieces of 80 grit sandpaper and distressed it by hand. I haven’t sealed it yet, but plan on doing so soon with a water-based polycrylic.
I am loving how it turned out! Refinishing a piece of furniture can be daunting, but it wasn’t hard at all! You can check out another piece I refinished here.
Be sure to check out my Instagram page @faith.and.farmhouse for more decor ideas and before and afters!
This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. All opinions remain my own.
I had never refinished a piece of furniture in my life. What I learned was that refinishing an old oak table, though not exactly easy, was well worth the time and effort.
A Thoughtful Gift
This solid, round oak table was where my husband and I sat and ate many meals, some great, others not so much, during our first few years of marriage. It was a hand-me-down table from my parents. They had it sitting around in a garage and knew we needed a place to sit and eat. We didn’t have too many pieces of furniture starting out. My husband was still taking college classes while working full-time and I had just graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and was looking for my first teaching job. Even though it didn’t look the best; the finish was peeling in places and it was stained that orange-ish color that made it look straight from the 90’s, we welcomed this table with thankful hearts.
Time for a Change
We bought our first house together in the spring of 2018. We had just welcomed our little girl into the world and we were ready to stop renting and buy a place of our own. I knew before we even found our home that I wanted something that I could decorate farmhouse-style. I’ve always loved seeing the transformations that Joanna Gaines does to the houses on Fixer Upper and I couldn’t wait to bring that farmhouse feel into our future home. When our offer was accepted on a home with two dining spaces, an eat-in kitchen and a formal dining area, I knew that it wouldn’t be in the budget to buy two new dining tables. I was going to have to update our current dining table in order to get the look I was hoping for. I had never refinished a piece of furniture in my life. What I learned was that refinishing an old oak table, though not exactly easy, was well worth the time and effort.
The hand-me-down oak table in the dining room of our rental home. I hated those green countertops!
Doing Some Research
First off, I started doing my research into how to refinish a table. I knew that I wanted a white base with a dark walnut stained top. I found another blog tutorial online that proved to be very helpful from @makingitinthemountains. Her tutorial online about how she refinished her kitchen table was exactly what I was looking for! I also found a few other tutorials and googled the basics on sanding and staining. With it being a free, secondhand table, I decided to take a shot and refinish it.
Gathering the Supplies
I knew I wanted to stain my tabletop a dark, deep color. After researching different stain colors and brands, I went with Miniwax Dark Walnut stain. What’s great is most of my supplies for this table are available on Amazon, so I didn’t even have to go out for too many supplies. Click on the images featured to purchase on Amazon.
Miniwax Dark Walnut Stain
After reading something about how belt sanders can leave marks, but palm sanders may not leave as many, I went out and bought a palm sander that proved to be very handy (pun intended).
Black + Decker Mouse Detail Sander
I definitely didn’t have the time to sand the entire table, and I knew that chalk paint allows the paint to stick on finished surfaces without sanding. I purchased a can of Rustoleum’s Chalked Paint in Linen White. I love how easy it is to use!
Rustoleum Chalked Paint in Linen White
I used a cheap foam paintbrush that I had lying around so it wouldn’t show too many brushstrokes, but a good, high-quality paintbrush is all you really need.
To seal the top, I bought a can of Miniwax polyurethane. This is the one I used:
Miniwax Polyurethane in Clear Satin
Sanding
The key to sanding is starting with the most abrasive (lowest number) of grits first and then moving onto the finer (higher number) grits. You’ll want to make sure you get off ALL of the original finish. It needs to get down to bare wood in order for the stain not to look blotchy. It took me at least an hour and a half to completely sand the finish off of the top. I probably should have continued to sand a bit longer to smooth out any scratches, but with a young baby and busy evenings, I didn’t have that much time. I’ve read where you can use stripper and scrape the finish off first but I didn’t have the tools and I chose to just try to sand it down. Overall, it worked pretty well!
The Before Photo of the Table
Staining
After completely sanding the top down to bare wood, I applied the liquid stain using a staining sponge to the top in even strokes going with the grain. Make sure you don’t leave too much excess stain piled up and just sitting there. You can also apply the stain with a clean t-shirt or clean cloths. I used the sponge and wiped the excess up with a cloth. I let it dry overnight. I applied a second coat of stain the next day and waited for it to dry overnight as well.
Sealing
After the stain had dried, I used the polyurethane to seal the top. I was advised to go with polyurethane vs. polycrylic by the salesman at Menards, so I went with it! It has held up so far. Be sure to apply a thin coat and not too thick, otherwise you’ll end up with bubbles like I did. I had to sand down a couple spots where it bubbled up before doing a second coat of polycrylic, which was frustrating. After fixing my mistake, I did two more coats of polyurethane. Overall, I did three coats and it still looks great! Because I was teaching at the time and only getting to work during the evening hours while dealing with dinner, bath time, and bedtime, I waited about a week before I painted the base. This allowed time for the polyurethane to really set and seal properly.
Painting
Painting the base white was the easiest part. I purposefully chose to refinish the top before painting the bottom because I knew that I would drip stain. I didn’t want to paint the bottom white until all of the staining was finished. I painted the base with three coats of chalk paint one evening and it only took me about an hour total. The paint was completely dry the next morning!
It is (re)Finished!
I am so happy that I decided to take a leap of faith and refinish a piece of furniture, staining and everything, all by myself. It looks so much better and has more of a farmhouse feel to it now! I see similar orange oak tables all of the time for dirt cheap at Goodwill, garage sales, secondhand shops, etc. If you’re thinking about refinishing a piece of furniture, I say do it! I now have a beautiful, solid wood farmhouse table that didn’t cost much at all! Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think or if I can help answer any questions you may have!
Faith and Farmhouse 