Well, last Saturday I got a little bit bored. Jeremy was preparing for his first day at law school (aka studying for 10 hours) - and the house was already clean - so I had nothing to do! I was concerned... law school hadn't even started yet! I figured I better come up with something that would entertain me for quite awhile... so I decided to refinish a table that Jeremy and I have so that it would match the decor of our front room and function as a computer desk. I had NO IDEA where to start, so I called my Dad for some detailed instructions. Then I ventured off to Home Depot to pick up supplies, and came home to begin making a mess - my first wood working project! The table was my victim, it fought hard against me... but I won in the end. Here are some before and after pictures to show you the journey.
We don't exactly have a garage, or a good place for making a mess of this proportion - so I just put down a tarp and went at it with some sandpaper in our spare bedroom. It worked out okay - except that I had to vacuum the whole room (from head to toe) when I finished - because there was a thick film of sanddust everywhere!
Sanding the table was a lot of work, but really fulfilling. It felt great to put some real muscle power (the limited muscle power that I have) into a project. It was exhausting, but rewarding. The wood was so beautiful when I finished sanding it, that I almost felt bad staining it.
This is me putting the final coat of polyurethene on the table. We had to open up all of our windows, but the stench of still filled the house. Sometimes I still think that I am smelling it... maybe the fumes got to my brain.
Jeremy ended up helping me out with the finishing touches. We spray painted the legs of the table together, and then when everything had dried he was the one to screw the table top back on so that I could admire my finished product!!
And... voila! A week later, I have the table completed. It's not perfect - but it's functional. Jeremy and I are both very happy with it. The table matches the decor of the rest of the room really well (but you can't see that in this picture - sorry). Best of all, now that the table is finished I was able to clean up my spare bedroom so that it is actually functional again! Yeah for not living in a dusting, fumey pigsty anymore! AND.... now that the table is done, Jeremy set up my new desktop computer - which allows me to be online at home!!!! Yeah for being connected with the world around me!! I don't think that I have left my computer all day. So... expect to be hearing more from me soon. And keep posting exciting things on all of your blogs - so that I don't get bored again and get any more crazy ideas about attacking any other pieces of my innocent furniture.
We don't exactly have a garage, or a good place for making a mess of this proportion - so I just put down a tarp and went at it with some sandpaper in our spare bedroom. It worked out okay - except that I had to vacuum the whole room (from head to toe) when I finished - because there was a thick film of sanddust everywhere!
Sanding the table was a lot of work, but really fulfilling. It felt great to put some real muscle power (the limited muscle power that I have) into a project. It was exhausting, but rewarding. The wood was so beautiful when I finished sanding it, that I almost felt bad staining it. 
This is me putting the final coat of polyurethene on the table. We had to open up all of our windows, but the stench of still filled the house. Sometimes I still think that I am smelling it... maybe the fumes got to my brain. 
Jeremy ended up helping me out with the finishing touches. We spray painted the legs of the table together, and then when everything had dried he was the one to screw the table top back on so that I could admire my finished product!!
And... voila! A week later, I have the table completed. It's not perfect - but it's functional. Jeremy and I are both very happy with it. The table matches the decor of the rest of the room really well (but you can't see that in this picture - sorry). Best of all, now that the table is finished I was able to clean up my spare bedroom so that it is actually functional again! Yeah for not living in a dusting, fumey pigsty anymore! AND.... now that the table is done, Jeremy set up my new desktop computer - which allows me to be online at home!!!! Yeah for being connected with the world around me!! I don't think that I have left my computer all day. So... expect to be hearing more from me soon. And keep posting exciting things on all of your blogs - so that I don't get bored again and get any more crazy ideas about attacking any other pieces of my innocent furniture.
