Rustic Table and Chairs

I recently competed this table for one client, and these chairs for another. (you may remember my post about the chairs here) Conveniently, they were both in the studio at the same time, so I photographed them together.

Here's what the table looked like before:

it was your basic 80's-ish oak pedestal table. My client bought it on Craigslist, and brought it to the studio. I turned it into more of a "farmhouse style", similar to when I painted this table, and this table.

here is more of a close up of the top:

and, even more of a view of the top:

to get this look, I start by sanding down alllllll of the pieces, to remove all of the old stain and polyurethane. (Well, most - some of it is still in the grains a little, just because it's nice to have some variation) I hired my poor brother in law to sand down the table, and I'm not sure that he knew what all he was getting into. Sanding is a tough and not so fun job! I can't stand the sneezing, stuffy noses, and itchy eyes that come with sanding (yes, we do wear glasses and masks!) But, it must be done!

Anyway, I do that, then use a few different glazes, and then do more sanding in between coats. It's a pretty intense job!

I use a wax sealer, so that the surface is not too shiny.

I feel like it's a little more authentic that way.

Also, you might have noticed that I glazed these chairs a bit:

they needed to be toned down a bit, so we slapped some glaze on 'em. Much better!