Furniture Rehab DIY

As a young person, I have ongoing strife regarding the contents of my home.  Namely, I don't have nearly the funds to make it look exactly the way I want.  My home is about 1/2 of the way to where I want it to be.  There are rugs I'd like to replace, a too-big couch that's a remnant from a former residence with a larger living room, and until this weekend, there was a pretty boring wood table and chairs.  

This table and chairs was GENEROUSLY gifted to us by Darrell's grandparents, and without it we flat out wouldn't have a table.  But was it my DREAM dining table?  Nope.  

For the few years I've had it I've been perusing the internet for a new option, but never came up with anything less than $400.  After flipping through the Young House Love home improvement book (aka a DIY bible by the king and queen of online do it yourself) I came up with a pretty simple solution.  Paint it!  

So here is my step by step of how I re-did this table, per the Young House Love instructions.  

1.  Lay out trash bags, a tarp, newspaper, whatever you need to protect your floors.  Lightly sand all surfaces of your furniture if it's wood.  Don't go too crazy, you don't have to put a crazy amount of elbow grease into this. Light sanding.  

2.  Get out a beer and put on a record.  This is important!  Paint + beer + records = this being a way more enjoyable experience.  

3.  Then give your piece of furniture one good *thin and even* coat of primer.  It doesn't have to cover the surface to full opacity.  It will no doubt look uneven.  Ask someone at Home Depot or Lowe's to give you a recommendation for a good primer for your surface type.  

4.  Wait for your primer to dry, usually about an hour, and then apply your first coat of paint.  Again, thin and even strokes.  Wait an hour or two (your paint can will say how long until reapplication) and then apply a second coat.  A third coat is your choice - my white table took three.  

5.  Apply a coat of polyurethane sealant.  I used Minwax.  The container said to apply two coats, but truth be told I only did one.  I didn't want a very shiny finish.  

6.  Wait for it to dry!  I know this is a tough part, but you really need to let it sit for 72 hours after you apply the sealant.  

And finished!  

My total cost for this project was about $80, including paintbrushes, primer, sealant, and paints that I have leftovers of and will surely use again.  For this table and chairs, I only needed quarts not gallons of primer, paints, and sealant.  Fortunately, I overbought, so there will be another DIY coming at you next week for the second project I did with it!