#389...dining overhaul

I recently got a new dining table. 
I did not need one. 
I already had a very nice thrifted dining set that Tyler painstakingly sanded and refinished.
.......but I have a  used furniture hoarding problem.


Here's how I ended up with it............

I happened to casually notice it on my way to the back of the thrift store, and stopped to check the ticket, not intending to buy it...just curious. But, as I stood there holding the ticket, a man rushed up, claiming that he saw it first and planned to buy it, demanding that I hand over the price ticket. For no good reason, and with no need for a new table, my mind switched into manic hoarder mode, and I clutched the price ticket in my grubby hand and marched straight to the check out and paid for the table without even really looking it over.

After purchasing, I breathed a sigh of relief that "I won".....but quickly realized that the table (which stretches to over 120") was not going to fit in my Jeep. Luckily, a friend with a large vehicle was able to come rescue me and my table and help me get it into the house.

Initially, I thought maybe I could water seal it and use it outdoors, but after crawling under it and researching its maker, it turns out my $200 table is teak, was made in Denmark in the 1950's by Gudme Mobelfabrik, and appears to be worth a pretty penny more than I paid for it. (That NEVER happens) ...So, whether it fits the style of our dining room or not, I decided that it would become our new dining table....out with the old, and in with the new old. Here is a picture of a Gudme Mobelfabrik table like mine that I found on a fancy auction website.

It is a trestle table, which actually makes it easier to access the window bench side of our dining set-up, which is a good thing. The table was somewhat worn looking, and needed some TLC

Before

I followed Morgan's (The Brick House) instructions for refreshing vintage wood. It entailed cleaning the piece with Murphy Oil Soap, lightly sanding scuffed areas, treating with Danish oil and finishing with Howard's Feed-N-Wax. This recipe worked like a charm, and was easy to administer to the table. 

After

New table needs new chairs. 

I picked a four-set of these up for $50. 

Not in the greatest shape, but I planned only to keep them temporarily until something better came along. Upon seeing them, Tyler informed me that he had those chairs at his kitchen table growing up, and was less than impressed with the new set-up. 

The shopping spree continued, and I bought a vintage Persian rug from this website to bring a little color to this side of the room and help the new Danish marvel tie in with our red Chinese inspired buffet, which sits opposite.

Despite assuring Tyler that I would replace the chairs, and making excuses for them to recent house guests, I've secretly started to really love them and how they look with the table and rug. I decided to bite the bullet and try to spruce them up. The chrome was in pretty bad shape, rusted in some spots.

I totally disassembled the chairs, and gave the chrome a scrub down with a mixture of Bar Keepers Friend and water. It took some heavy manual labor...I broke a sweat and counted it as my exercise for the day.....but I got the chrome looking pretty shiny.

Next, I went to work on the wood portions of the chairs, cleaning, sanding and oiling.

The old chair seats need to be recovered, but I'm not sure what I want to do with them, so the old ones are back on for now. After all of my work....and all of your reading of this long post, here is what our new dining room digs look like in the room.