Share with friends!

round dining table roots and wings furniture

Wobbly tables drive me nuts.  Our table for our eat in kitchen had been re-worked several times, but a crack in the base made it wobble like crazy.  So I was on the hunt for a round dining table I could re-do for our eat in kitchen.  

We eat at this table all the time, do homework here, play dough, crafts – everything happens here.  I wish we used our “formal” dining room more often, but instead this is where we gather.  That means it needs to be sturdy, solid wood, and needs to last! 

I spotted this old empire style pedestal table at an antique store a few weeks ago.  It was buried underneath many treasures, but the sticker read $50.  I went home to measure, and headed back to grab it.  Because we bought a few more things while we were there the price was knocked down to $40.  That price for a solid wood, round dining table is a steal!!  I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to work on it! 

This piece contains affiliate links to help you find the products I use and recommend.  These links cost you no extra, and are for your convenience.  To see my full disclosure policy, click here.

The top had a few small chips in the veneer, and a big old water ring.  The only way to properly remove a water ring is to sand down to bare wood and re-stain.  That was the plan for this anyway, so no worries.  

round dining table roots and wings furniture

The top of this table is tiger oak.  It’s a veneer over solid wood (veneer is just a very thin piece of wood usually 1/8″ or less).  Whenever you are sanding veneer you need to use a bit of caution and just make sure you don’t get to aggressive and sand through it.  I started with 120 grit sandpaper on my 1/4 pad sander (here’s a similar one), but it wasn’t cutting through the varnish fast enough so I switched to 80 grit.  ALWAYS sand with the grain of the wood, this will prevent scratches showing through the final finish.  

round dining table roots and wings furniture

Here’s the piece half sanded.  The raw wood is so much lighter.  I decided against filling the veneer chips, I just didn’t feel like it was necessary on this piece.  It’s going to be well loved in our house so more chips are bound to occur.  I figured I’d just embrace the character on this round dining table as it was. 

round dining table roots and wings furniture

I used my favorite stain combo to stain the top of this piece.  It’s a 50/50 mix of General Finishes Antique Oak & Walnut Water Based Stain.  I mixed it in an empty kitchen jar, and applied it with a rag.  

round dining table roots and wings furniture

Isn’t it lovely??!  This is where you can really see the “tiger stripes” of the tiger oak.  It’s a gorgeous piece of wood.  Once the stain was dry (water based stain only needs to dry a few hours), it was time to top coat the piece. 

Because this is going to be a kitchen table, I decided to use Arm-R-Seal in satin finishArm-R-Seal is an oil based topcoat.  It soaks into the wood reviving it, while giving just a bit of shine.  It’s a very durable finish and easy to clean (perfect for this space).  Arm-R-Seal is just a wipe on top coat.  I used a rag, wiped on a thin coat. Let dry (12-24 hours) and lightly sand with 400 grit sandpaper between coats.  You have to build up your coats with this product, I was happy with 4 coats total. 

UPDATE: this my friends is the most durable finish I’ve found for kitchen table tops.  We use this table daily and it’s held up super well.  It’s worth the extra time and work of the oil based finish to get a durable finish that will last! 

round dining table roots and wings furniture

Once I had a few coats of top coat in the works, it was time to paint.  I chose General Finishes Queenstown Gray for the base, this table sits right next to the hutch I finished last year with the Queenstown interior.  Queenstown Gray is just the perfect dark gray, it’s neutral enough that it’s not a color, but it really showcases the wood top of the round dining table, and makes for a beautiful combo to enhance the rest of the kitchen/dining room area.

round dining table roots and wings furniture

Here it is all finished and in place.  I LOVE it!!!  The chairs are painted in Coastal Blue, and I quite like the combination of blue and gray.  

round dining table roots and wings furniture

The top is smooth, with just a bit of luster.  The grain in the wood almost glows thanks to the Arm-R-Seal, and the table cleans up so easily!  

round dining table roots and wings furniture

I did remove the old caster wheels from this piece, it was too high with them in.  I love the color of the base and the contrast with the light gray on the walls.  Not too bad for a $40 round dining room table makeover, am I right??!

Don’t be afraid to try something new!

Until next time, 
Jenni