Bummer desk

We've been looking for a desk for our front room (you know, the one. The one that's supposed to be a dining room, but it has carpet in it and we've got three messy boys, and no use for a dining room and kitchen table at this point, so it's turned into my craft room/computer room/catchall). Our computer desk in the basement broke, nevermind who broke it when they were moving it. NEVERMIND. And we've been planning on bringing the computer upstairs for the boys to use. So I've been keeping an eye out for the perfect desk for our front room and I finally found this amazing desk at GW for TWENTY BUCKS!

Isn't it great!? I had this vision of a smooth ebony stained top with white drawers and keeping the pulls the antique look that they are....nice vision, right? Can you see it? Gorg.

I started sanding the top. It took a lot of muscle power. It was painful. But then I started noticing that my sander was getting a little carried away. And it started sanding too much of the top off. Crap. I freaked. And fretted. I cleaned everything off and stained the top thinking that I wouldn't be able to notice the portions that we (we meaning the sander and me, because it's just as much the sanders fault as it is mine!) sanded too much. Well. I.Was.Wrong.

That's not good. Not good at all.

See those sections where it looks different. Yeah. I'm so bummed. I had my heart set on the top being stained and the rest of it looks sooooo good, except for those sections and I can't leave it like that. It's horrible.

So, it is sitting in the garage, completely and totally primed, all over. Even the top. I've been thinking about sanding again, but there's really no reason to try again, unless I want to sand the entire top down to match the spots where it went to the bare wood.  Someone make me feel better about it looking good white.

Arghhh....

Freebie chair, downer post, beware.

You know how you've got projects that are just waiting for you....that's what this was. It was just waiting. I wanted to do it, but I knew it was going to take time and I like projects that are done in a jiffy. But, it was a freebie! A friend of mine grabbed it out of someone's garbage and gave it to me. What a great friend! I love a good dumpster find!

I wasn't worried about the tufting. Piece of cake. Not worried about the color or fabric choice. Got it. I was FREAKING out about the cushion! I had no idea what to do. I really should learn to make a cover for it. Really, I know I should, but I was so nervous about it, I was thinking about including the cushion with the bottom of the chair and not make it removable...

So, one afternoon I After I carefully started taking the chair apart. Nice and easy, pulling staples, paying attention to details....ALL FOR NOTHING...yep. That's right. I started taking it apart and found that the leg was cracked in half and inside the chair the wood was rotting and I'm pretty sure an animal made a home inside at some point.

I'm so sad for the chair. My first chair that could not be rescued. Breaks my heart a little.

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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