Crafty Pursuits: The Day You've All Been Waiting For!

Today is a day that I have been looking for to for quite a while. It is the day that I finally present to you my new kitchen table and chairs! But first, the back story.

When the Mr. bought this house back in 2008, we moved in with 2 friends and had almost nothing of our own. Both of our friends/new roommates had lived in an apartment before and so we were counting on them to bring many things; a table and chairs being a part of that.

But you see, boys don't always have a very defined sense of style... most of them just don't care. So our friends (both male) brought a sweet glass "table" from the 80's. It was pretty rickety and dangerous to have around (not to mention, downright UGLY) so I declared that we needed better options. Enter the old Butcher Block style table with Caldor chairs. Mr.'s parents had saved it from waaay back when they got their first place. So I brought them into our kitchen thinking that I would reupholster the chairs to give them a look that was a little more 21st century and a little less Shaggy Lion's Mane. But luckily, I was saved from even having to do that much work! The very day that we brought in the table, someone down the street was moving across the country and abandoning half of their stuff. My first Manchester Street Treasures. Erv (a roomie) got a desk and dresser, I got a bookshelf and 6 sturdy oak chairs.

TahDah! We had a much more suitable kitchen thanks to the old "trash is treasure" theory. Below, our friend Katie models the table as we hosted a Chinese New Year feast. Notice that it doesn't do much for the kitchen.

someone needs curtains and a new floor!

So then as you can see, there was a table and chairs, but it didn't do too much to wow anyone. But as long as our roommates were there, I didn't feel compelled to really do much decorating. After they left last year, I went crazy painting rooms and fixing old things, but I had mostly left the kitchen alone.... Until I met this second generation freebie. My Aunt (who is also awesome at finding and saving Street Treasures) found this pedestal table at her local dump. It had a crack in the base, but otherwise it was pretty solid. She took it home and used it for a while before deciding it wasn't quite her style, so she gave it to my Mom to use in her dining room. It wasn't long after that I declared I would take it home and love it properly.

The table was actually in great shape (aside from the crack and some small surface scratches on the top) I just wanted to darken the stain and then paint the sides and the base white. So I went right to it, and spent forever sanding the top so that my new stain would be uniform.

So the table was finished... that was last May. In the meantime I had purchased some chairs but was never motivated to take care of them. So then I got real busy with the wedding, got married went on a month-long honeymoon, etc. Finally in October, my Mom sent me a craigslist posting of a set of 6 cained back chairs. I wanted them instantly. Apparently, she has sent me the posting wondering if SHE should buy them. Anyway, I gave her my old chairs, bought the cained backs and was excited to get them pretty.