At the new table!
It was Saturday morning breakfast, the other table was full of Cr*p so I said “We’re eating out here!”
Please forgive Adam. He knows he’s not supposed to be at the table w/o a shirt, but I was hungry, the food was getting cold and I wanted to snap a picture. He also wouldn’t smile right. Dork.
We like our new table…now if only we could get it finished!!
Do not adjust your screen-this is not a photo-shopped picture. Those are really the ends of table-glued and cut and ready for SafeCoat Lacquer. Then they will get legs of their own and attached to the top of the table.
Adam brought them home last week and I was so happy to finally see what our table is actually going to look like. We love it! This wood has tons of character and is going to look awesome once it’s finished. And it really just completes the modern design of our rustic table.
It’s like putting book ends on a book shelf.
The books were fine there before, but with two fancy ends the shelf becomes more than a function of holding books-it becomes a place of interest-a statement.
And that is exactly what this table is! It serves as a place to eat and gather, but I know it will always serve as a statement piece in our house and will bring up many conversations as we gather around it with family and friends to enjoy a good meal. And with our ends we can gather more of our friends and family.
Oh and the best part of putting on our Ends, the dogs can get under the table when we eat!
MoooHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
yep. 1st time I’ve made something for myself…well that I can remember.
It was a Wednesday evening, Adam was at tired and I had just bought a bunch of patterns at Joann’s for Tara’s wedding.
I went through all the fabric I had and looked at my patterns. We were going to Atlanta for the weekend and I decided I wanted a sundress to wear since it’s so HOT in Atlanta.
I ended up choosing the same pattern I used to make Kristi her dress and a green fabric I had purchased months ago from Fabric.com.
After a couple hours work I had this:
which in this photo needs ironing…
But it’s super cute-super comfy and with a belt, wearable to work!
Hopefully I can find appropriate fabrics for the other pattern I purchased (for $1 on sale!) and can continue to fill my wardrobe with my own creations.
And now for the Master Card Breakdown:
Fabric: $2.99/yd
Pattern: $1
Thread: Already owned
Time: 2 hours
Having women in your office gasping when you told them you made it last night: Priceless.
And yes-this is a $4 dress.
After much discussion and debate Adam and I both realized we like the upholstered chairs and the, well, most expensive chairs. And right now, we really don’t have $300+ to drop into chairs.
One day at work, you know while I was “working” I thought of an idea.
Chair covers.
We have 4 folding chairs we purchased off Craig's List when we were first married and they were sitting shoved into our storage container guest closet. So I Googled “Round Back Folding Chair Covers White” and found that this option was very doable. The question was-would Adam like it? When I got home that night I told him about it and he thought – ya, it would be a good temporary fix to our chair-less table.
The next day I ordered 4 white chair covers at $2.38 a piece, with shipping the total was $16.47. WAY cheaper than any ONE chair I found.
When they came in a pulled out the folding chairs, slid on the covers and moseyed them up to the table.
Off the bat I realized that the chairs themselves were too low for our new table. For one, the chair back doesn’t even clear the table top and two when I sit at the table I feel short. But Adam said for him they’re fine. I pulled two chairs from our other dining set and slid them in between (since there’s room for 6). Those chairs are the proper height for me, when sitting so for now we’ll keep them their as well.
I had fun setting the table to see how it would look and looks pretty good. They definitely work and confirms my decision to go with all white chairs. ( I really do despise the oak chairs with the table) But I do think the chair back will need to be at least 1-2” higher than the table top.
We realize this isn’t a permanent fix, but we’re ok with what we have for now. When we get through wedding season hopefully we’ll have a little extra cash and can start slowly buying the chairs we like. And the best part is now we can use our folding chairs as our extras when the the table is fully extended w/o having tacky brown folding chairs! We just have to make sure that the 6’+ men sit in those…so Joe, Dad, say hello to your spot at the table 
.
Oh! and yes-I realize I should iron the chair covers…but I haven’t had time nor the desire…so shut it.
To the Mitten State we go!
This chickie is getting married!!!
But before that happens we’ll get to do a little of this…
And some of this…
And of course get to see this…
I’m sure we’ll have lots to share when we return, but while we’re gone I’ve set up all of our recent updates...so check back daily to see what we’ve been up to!
Ha ha ha. I don’t know what TV show that line is from, but Adam and I use it all the time! It actually has relevance to this post. Why? because this post is about Lacquer! Yes, more on our table, finally.
So on to the “finishing” portion of our table journey. Don’t get excited, it’s not FINISHED, but it does have a finish on it.
Side note: Why is Finnish and finish and Polish and polish? Something going on in eastern Europe with furniture???
Sorry.
Adam and I realized very quickly that we would have to finish the table inside our condo. 1. it’s 1 million degrees outside and it would never set. 2. we don’t have a yard 3. it’s a million degrees out and we have no yard. So, I did some research for a low/no VOC product that would do the job. But first maybe I should explain that we came to the decision of a lacquer over an oil or a wax for two main reasons: durability and maintenance.
After a few Google searches I came up with Safecoat Acrylacq. {Safecoat Acrylacq Lacquer Finish is a clear, hard and durable high gloss, water-based replacement for high solvent content lacquer. Its very low odor and VOC content has allowed it to be used even in the homes of the chemically sensitive. Safecoat Acrylacq seals in outgassing from the substrate and has superior resistance to stains, marring and fingerprint marks. Also available in satin.}
Sounds fancy doesn’t it. Don’t worry, it has a fancy price tag too ($22/quart) Adam began putting even strokes and coats on the table top. And very quickly we knew we had made the right decision and our table was going to look awesome. the grains and colors and knots in the wood began popping out. And with each brush stroke his face would get more excited.
He started with the underside-which got only one coat.
You can see the stain on the left and the unstained on the right.
Then he flipped it and began the 2 coat/sand/1 coat process on the top.
After that he did the base and then we had to wait a week to let it cure. Finally it was time to screw the top down!
My job was to sit on it and make sure they were in complete contact…oh and take his picture 
Finally…it was one solid table!
And because these far off shots don’t do the wood justice here are some close ups.
We had purchased a quart of satin for the final coat, but after the first two coat we realized we liked the look of the gloss and decided to keep it. The finish is smooth and hard and brings out the beauty of each individual board…and yes dad, there are holes in it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And I don’t know if I ever explained how the whole table stands up-since the legs are apart of the top. but her is a picture of the legs and support. Adam figured it all out…with a tiny help from me.
Like a puzzle huh? But it works-it’s a nice strong table. You can also see how much a difference the lacquer made!
Last week I did something drastic. I boycotted dinner. well not the meal-the preparing of the meal.
You see the week before I was in the kitchen after a day at work frantically putting together our dinner. Well not frantically, but I was hungry and had 3 pots going and was trying to do like I always do and put together a nice meal. Adam was on the computer in the guest room. If you don’t know the kitchen and guest room are adjacent. the door opens into the kitchen opening…so basically it’s right there.
Anyway. I asked for help. twice. He said yes.I waited. I did it myself. I am convinced he’s deaf or he’s really bad at reading and listening and doing 12 things at once. Seriously the boy, yes boy, turns off when he’s “plugged in” (I get it now mom).
And anyhow, I had had it. I told him that I wasn’t lifting a finger next week and he was making dinner. We both work all day (me in an air conditioned office sitting at a pc, him in a hot dirty shop on his feet in front of large machines) and it’s not fair that I’m the only one who seems to care about getting a nice dinner on the table asap.
Monday morning comes and I remind him to take whatever meat he’s cooking out of the freezer for dinner. (I told him no bachelor meals-we need a Protein, starch and veggie) Monday night I come home to my husband cooking away in the kitchen. I sat down and watched entertainment tonight. Then when he called me to the table … I waited a minute or so before I got up. ha! I’m so mean. Adam had made bbq chicken, buttered noodles and veggies…not bad.
Wednesday (He’s not home Tue/Thur nights) We had marinated steaks on the grill, French fries, cauliflower, portabella mushrooms and a salad with lots of fruit. Feeling slightly guilty (I am catholic) I stopped at Publix and bought some wine and a bouquet of flowers for him. but this did make me late and he called to see where I was. More guilt.
By Friday I was MISSING cooking and told him to make the salmon that we had bought fresh before it went bad. Well around 4’oclock we decided to go to Tara’s for dinner. So Adam picked me up and brought his marinating salmon and veggies…and I told Tara….don’t worry, Adam will cook. And he did! She was very impressed (and I think scared her fiancé when she told him of our arrangement!)
To be honest though I missed the control of deciding what I was eating. I like cooking meals for my husband and he really is a fantastic husband. I know if I asked he’d do it every week. It was really hard for me to sit there and not help or look over his shoulder and we’ve found that we (he) don’t do to well together in the kitchen; He’s stubborn impatient-I’m bossy particular. So we’ll go back to the way we were…or maybe we’ll take turns…I just hope that we can continue our path together as teammates and help each other out when we need it so as not to have to succumb to temper tantrums boycotting.
