Dining Table---Possibly the biggest project of my life

I have been wanting a new kitchen table for quite a while but since I don't have a dedicated table space it wasn't really a priority. While looking on the classifieds one day I found this table with 6 chairs and I knew I had to have it. The seller was asking 140 but the chairs and the table aren't a matching set. I offered 75 and crossed my fingers I was #2 in line and 2 weeks later the seller contacted me after the initial buyer backed out...I was thrilled to say the least but had no idea where to begin, all of the furniture I have redone I have painted so I did a bunch of research and decided it was a ready or not scenario. This is a before picture...I almost forgot and had already taken the legs off.

I decided to use stripper(nothing fancy just ordinary stripper)...let me tell you I think it was more work than it was worth. I burned my skin a couple of times and was worried the girls might accidentally touch the wood, ect so for the rest of the project I just decided to do more sanding.

 But nevertheless here is the pieces after they were stripped

 Most of the research I did suggested using a 120 grit then finishing with a 220 before staining. I wasn't impressed with the 120 at all so I ran to the store and got some 80...that seemed to do the trick and made process a little quicker. Although don't get me wrong it still took a long time.

 Here is our sanding progress

  And here is the final process after many hours of sanding

I decided to use a pre-stain to ensure that the stain would adhere more evenly(I didn't want all my hard work to get ruined by the stain absorbing unevenly) Here is the what it looked like after I applied the pre-stain. It was very easy to use and the results were well  worth it.

 Now Im starting to see the finished product come together. Here it is after the stain coat. I used the Rustoleum Kona stain and I was very impressed with the results. It has a rustic look to it which couldn't be more perfect for what we wanted.

 Now to the polyurethane we ultimately decided to have it professionally polyurethaned. With all the wear and tear that this table will get in the many years to come we think it will be well worth it. So while the table was being finshed Matt and I finshed the chairs with a simple classic black leather. I had found som every cute printed leather but decided it looked pretty trendy and I don't want to redo them in a couple years.

Over all we are really pleased with the result although I can't wait til I have a bigger space so I can use all the chairs and the leaves. I can already see dinners around this table and Im pretty excited about it.