I never thought I would be so excited about a dining room table. It’s nothing fancy and not extremely stylish, but it’s a proper dining room table, minus the actually dining room.
You see, I have been on the lookout for a table ever since I’ve realized how useful they actually are. Before I had come to that realization, I attempted to make a chicken coop with our old table which, ironically, was nearly the exact same style as this one. I was so willing to turn it into a chicken coop due to the fact that we never ate at it… and I thought it was ugly. Do you see the irony now? Oh, and it never did work out as a chicken coop, in case you were wondering.
So fast forward to last week when I was driving around the corner from our home and BAM, there it is at the side of the road. I immediately pulled over, a man came out of the house it was near and told me it was $5… whaaat! Yes, I was a tad bit excited. So of course after dropping the husband and the kiddo’s off at home and putting down the back seats, I returned to pick it up. Thankfully I had exactly $5 in my wallet. God is good! As you can see, I still have yet to finish painting.
It is slightly bigger than our last table, but that’s okay… I am willing to sacrifice the space in order to have a dining table. All of us in the Smith household are happy to have it. Our first night eating at it, Elijah repeated at least three times how nice it was to eat together.
And how great it really was! Before now, Philip and I had to eat on the couch while Elijah and Eliana ate at their IKEA table nearby.
But it’s not only a place to eat our meals, it is a place for so much more. Elijah has already put it to good use by drawing out building plans for his prospective clubhouse at it, and Eliana often sits at the table just to sit there. I never thought having a big table in our house could be so nice.
Keep in mind, $5 didn’t get us a mint condition table… but it did come pretty close. It REEKED of cigarettes! So before bringing it in the house I wiped down every inch of it with slightly watered down vinegar. I had planned on letting it air out but then it rained. So I brought it inside and lightly misted straight vinegar on the underside of the table top, which is where the majority of the smell was coming from since it is exposed wood (neither stained nor sealed). I wasn’t worried about discoloration since it is the underside of the table, but if you are, wipe off any excess vinegar so that it doesn’t stain the wood.
Speaking of underneath the table, someone decided it was a good idea to write a certain B-word in permanent marker, leaving me incapable of wiping it off. So I sanded it off, and no one will ever know any better our table was once a sailor. I will spare you a picture of it.
Oh and you better believe I have future plans for this baby. I’m thinking of removing the tile top and replacing it with some beautifully stained wood. I’m really liking wide boards like this. I don’t really feel like repainting the white base, so I don’t think I will. Lazy? Maybe! But I think we’ll all survive.
So that wraps up the longest post you’ve probably ever read about a dining room table. Does it feel great? Now you may have a better idea of what my husband feels like living with me 24/7. Poor guy.
P.S. That is the thrifted highchair I found, all dolled up and painted… I’ll have to share more on that later.
I am so happy you got a table! I understand your excitement! I was so thrilled when we got our table and we could finally all sit down together. When you don't have something you Sure appreciate it when you finally do.
Thanks, Rebekah! You are exactly right.
Awesome. That looks exactly like the table we had when I was growing up!