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I have been looking for a new table for-ev-er. I have hated the dining table we’ve had for years. It was hubby’s first table after moving out on his own, and I had no say in it whatsoever. But, tables are expensive. Dining sets ever more so. I have been trying to find one to DIY and make my own for years. But, had been unable to find anything I even remotely liked…until now.
Let me tell you a story- Our church is expanding. The first thing they’ve changed is they moved the old youth room to a much bigger area. In our youth room there were several of these old tables.
I love the spinning chairs and always sit in them when we’re doing activities in the youth room. But, since the church is expanding, they got all new table and chairs for the youth room. They had a big church clear-out sale, and when I saw that they were selling these, I HAD to have one.
After much research, I discovered this table originally came from an Arby’s and was pretty old. I also learned that they are called “cluster tables“. Upon much googling, I came to find that brand new cluster tables are majorly expensive! Like $600-$800 expensive! So, at $50 this was an absolute STEAL! I couldn’t find anywhere online where someone had re-done one of these tables, so it was a brand new undertaking. Hubby and I were super excited to take on this project, and get a super unique dining table that is just absolutely “us” in the process.
Being that this was a pretty old table, it definitely needed cleaned up and painted. I also wanted to do something fun and unique with the top…more on that in a bit. So, first things first, we took it apart.
We removed the bolts underneath the chairs, and they were super easy to remove. Let me recommend you do this step before attempting to carry this table into your house…those chairs are heavy!
Remove all of the chairs, and then the tabletop. There were TONS of screws underneath, but also came apart fairly easily.
We removed the lining off of the bottom of the table because it was in super bad shape, but it peeled right up and already looked much cleaner afterwards. Then pretty much just wiped it down with a wet rag.
Then, the hubby used some plain ole aluminum foil and water and a non-odorous/non-toxic metal cleaner/lubricant to clean up the bottom. The foil did an awesome job getting the old rust off, and cleaning the mechanism made sure that the chairs would rotate easily and noiselessly.
Then we took some metal brushes and sand paper and rubbed down the base. Just to get any rust or bumpy areas. It didn’t take much, just enough to rough it up slightly. Then again, just wiped down with a wet rag.
We primed the bottom and top of the tabletop, then painted the bottom.
We only primed the table-top because I found some adorable chevron contact paper to cover it in. I had been trying to decide how I wanted to jazz up the top, when I found this contact paper at Wal-Mart. It was only like $5.97 for a roll that could have probably done the table several times over. Contact paper isn’t a super permanent solution. But, it should last decently for a couple of years. I also like the idea that if I start to hate the design, I can peel it up and put something else down in no time.
I also have to brag on my husband for doing an absolutely amazing job of lining this up. We tried doing it together, but since we love each other and didn’t want this project to end in divorce (kidding… kinda), he took over.
I love the impact it makes, and it is crazy what a little pattern can do for a project!
The next day we finished up painting the rest of the table outside,
We did 2 coats of spray primer and 3 coats of white spray paint, just to make sure all of the black got covered.
Then, we covered the spinning mechanism with aluminum foil so we wouldn’t get paint on it in the process. Seriously, aluminum foil worked better than anything because it was so east to mold around the area.
Then the chairs got 2 coats of white primer and 3 coats of our paint color…I forgot to take pictures of the actual spraying of the chairs because it was getting ready to rain, but they turned out like this.
The color we used was called Valspar La Fonda Mirage. And I absolutely LOVE it! It’s a light aqua that looks awesome in our newly painted kitchen. (Our kitchen walls are Valspar Smoked Oyster).
Once we got the table all put back together I was amazed at the transformation. It is crazy what a little paint and pattern can do! I mean…remember this…
And now…
The pictures do not at all do it justice. It is AWESOME! When we have a sunny day soon (c’mon winter!) I’ll try to get some better photos to use and update this post.
I seriously went into my kitchen several times a day to just look at how cute it turned out. It is completely my style and is a really cool conversation piece to have. It has been my absolute favorite project that the hubby and I have done together, and I can’t wait to do more!
What is your favorite DIY project that you’ve done?
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