The raw pine table

So we made one big furniture purchase - a raw pine table from Restoration Hardware. It goes with our worn-in, semi-utilitarian vibe and we were sold on the butterfly leaf. We can sit 6 comfortably with the leaf in but the table is only 36" square for every day. Perfect for our tiny dining room.

The wood looks warm in my photos - here's a website shot, which is more accurate:

It's to die for. And it's very, very raw.
We spill wine a lot.
I was concerned.

After looking into every possible finish, I bought two pieces of laminated fabric and cut them into tablecloths with pinking shears, and we followed Restoration Hardware's advice and used only clear furniture wax to protect the table. I used a bit of Minwax Polycrylic on the underside to make sure I'd hate it (it made the ashy pale wood warmer and darker, as if it was damp). I applied Table Wax from www.thefurnitureconnoisseur.com/ and after 2 coats I'm thrilled - the wood has the same soft feel, just a bit slicker. It smells nice too!

More fun with spray paint

I had sore muscles in my forearm from spray painting so many things white last weekend. The big white-out extravaganza helped me update old furnishings to make them pop in our medium taupey-gray living/dining area and our dark gray den. The white is particularly important in the den - we are using Urbane Bronze from Sherwin Williams, not Iron Mountain as shown previously...)

I painted so many things white in the last week...a lamp, an easel, sconces...but one of my favs was this old picture frame. It's an odd shape and I wasn't sure what to put in it, but my awesome MIL suggested painting the glass with chalkboard paint. Voila, supreme cuteness! It will hang right outside the kitchen as our shopping list - then I'll take an iPhone photo when I'm running to the store.

My MIL gave me something else, too - the top of an old secretary. So I stuck some $10 legs from Home Depot on that sucker and sprayed him to death. He will REALLY pop against the den walls now! Rather small for a desk but this will work until we save up $$$ for a "real" one. And then this guy will be relegated to some sort of closet nook that I have yet to devise...

One more thing. As someone who has gone through 12 bottles of spray paint in the last 10 days, let me just say that I will never buy Krylon again and am a huge fan of Rust-Oleum.