I've been wanting a larger table and chairs for a while now, but didn't want anything huge. I spotted this table for $80 and picked it up ASAP. Again, I did not get any real "before" photo of the table. This photo is after sanding. Just imagine the whole thing is that dated orangey color.

Upon sanding, I fell in love with the wood. But I also knew the guy I bought it from had put about 5 coats of Polyurethane on it and I'd never be able to get it off the entire table. So I committed to rehab-ing the top and painting the bottom. Just getting the polyurethane out of the little groove end was a huge pain.

Originally I painted the table with Annie Sloan French Linen, but there was no contrast, so I decided to paint it with American Decor chalk paint in black, or charcoal, or whatever their blackish color is called. When I distressed it, the French Linen color came through, so that turned out nice. (Pardon my junk in these photos. I got sick and took a couple road trips and my garage became a dumping ground for a while.)

For the top, I think I must have tried 4 or 5 different stains and none of them worked. The "Pickling" stain I got was a joke. I wound up finding something called "Driftwood Stain" that turned out to be a winner.

knew when I started this that I wanted to have a bench on one side of the table. I scoured craigslist for a good bench and found something PERFECT. Of course it had chickens painted all over it...but ya' know. I stripped those suckers off and was relieved to find that the wood matched my table top!

I went ahead and stained both with the driftwood stain and painted and distressed the bench.

I did a few coats of Polycrylic on the table and bench. It does not turn yellow over time, like polyurethane.

I found 4 tufted side chairs on Wayfair in the clearance section. They turned out to be the most expensive component of this set, but it's just what I was looking for. The table is not too large, but can seat 6 people without feeling too cramped.

Updated Dining Set!