I hate this table...But I love this table!

We got a new table.
A new to us table.
I'm so angry about this table, I might just drop the f-bomb. Right now. But I will refrain for my non-swearing readers and my kids when they eventually read this.

The table we had was from Tom's grandma.
It was a cast off.
She was going to donate it.
We didn't have a dining room table, so we took it.
It's lasted us nearly 8 years.
It's ready to fall apart. It's frail and fragile and sticky.
Just like me. Poor me, frail and fragile and sticky.

Enter the new table.
We don't have a formal dining room. Well, we do, but it's being used as a craft/storage/play room.
Our kitchen dining room is not large. In fact, it's awkward and funny.
Kind of like me. Poor me, awkward and funny.

I wanted a round table.
I wanted this table:

 

Photo Courtesy of Crate and Barrel, Avalon Extension Dining Table, $499.

Now, before you get all, "be happy for what you have, at least you have a table...." I know that I should be happy for what I have. I've said this before, I am so thankful for my life and family and what I have, blah, blah, blah...So, onward with the whining and complaining and swearing.

I found a table. In fact, I found a Crate and Barrel table. (There were stickers underneath in several spots for me to know) For $24.99. At GW! Hooray! I can't begin to explain how excited I was to score this table:

They painted that beautiful white table. Brown. It was sticky and gross and I was determined to fix it. I thought I could save it. So, I gathered my materials:

Chocolate covered cashew clusters, of the Amish kind, orange smelling stripping gel, scrapers, a brush and of course, DC.

I started with the leaf to see how it would work.

Apply, and wait....

  

Lots of bubbles....then scrape....

And apply more and scrape. It was starting to look good. Except that I realized I was going to have to paint it anyway because the previous paint had stained the white. So I decided to just sand the rest of the table.

I sanded and then used my Kilz to prime.

Then painted in semi-gloss white. 

This is where it all goes to crap. The white looked great! I was so happy. 

Then I did it. I used polyurathane. Gasp! I knew I shouldn't have done this. 

But, I was going on the advice of the HD guy. He said he used it and it turned out great. 

I should NOT have done it. There are two types of coating you can use. Polyurathane and Polycrylic. I used the polyurathane. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I've known this to be the case, but I thought I would try it.

But first.

When I was putting the table back together I ran out of battery in the drill. We have two batteries, no biggie, I thought. But guess what! When the second battery is sitting in the charger and the charger is unplugged...

So I used my small drill, that stripped the screws...not all but one, and that one did not get screwed. At all.

Here's what a drill bit looks like after it has stripped a screw:

Cool. Not.

Oh, and the leaf that I stripped and sanded and primed and painted and applied poly. It's sticky. And ugly...

So, here's my new white yellow table sitting in our kitchen.

 

  

Of course, the yellow is hard to see in pictures. But trust me, it looks like the boys stood on the chairs and peed all over the table....

As soon as I stop swearing, take a couple deep breaths and compose myself I will redo it, because I love this table. I do.

It may take a few days...

I couldn't stand it and redid it. I sanded the top and got out my trusty old Behr Black Suede and got to work. Although I'm still not altogether happy, but it is much better than pee yellow. I would rather spray paint it, but I have to wait until it warms up a little, then I can work in the garage.

 

See them? All those lines. It is so frustrating!

It really is a great table. Now I just need to re-do it. Later. Warmer. If I can stand to wait that long...

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