For those of you who live in a cold climate (like we do), we know that at this point in winter it starts to feel like the season has overstayed its welcome. So honestly one of the best things to do to boost your morale in these chilly months is to make your home feel cozier and more welcoming. One of the things we all tend to do during winter is eat. Lots of meals and warm dishes and sitting together with family at the dining table absolutely help us get through this season. So we’re going to show you a great project – transforming a tired table with Fusion Stain and Finishing Oil and how to style a cozy winter-themed room that you can recreate in your own home.

This table transformation consisted of an oak wood table that came with two extensions and 6 dining chairs that was in need of a refresh.

Reviving a Tired Table – Transformation with Fusion Stain and Finishing Oil

LIST OF ITEMS THAT WERE USED FOR THIS PROJECT:

• Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash
• Homestead House Stain & Finishing Oil in Cappuccino
• Homestead House Milk Paint in Chocolate
• Bonding Agent / Ultra Grip
• Fusion Furniture Wax
• Sanding blocks
• Paint Stripper
• Stripping gloves
• #0000 Steel Wool
• Chip brush
• Scrapers

STEP 1

STRIP THE TABLETOP

Start by stripping the tabletop with the paint stripper.  In order for a surface to accept a new stain, you have to strip it down to the bare wood. You may find that you will need to apply the stripper a few times and remove the layers as you go. You can see the difference below with each stripped layer. The Stain and Finishing Oil that we are using could adhere to this table top as is, but we really wanted to see a beautiful wood grain finish so we opted to strip it.

STEP 2

ADDING THE STAIN AND FINISHING OIL

Once the top is stripped to the bare wood, it’s time to add the stain – Stain & Finishing Oil  (that’s SFO for short as nicknamed by our Paint it Beautiful Facebook group). This is an excellent all in one, stain and finishing oil. The stain penetrates into the wood fibres to create a durable, scratch-resistant, waterproof finish.  You do not need an extra top coat or wax when using this, it’s durable enough even for floors!  It comes in 6 different colours and we decided on “Cappuccino”, the dark rich brown in the range.

A total of three coats were applied to the surface, letting each coat dry properly between each. This is about a day or until the Stain & Finishing Oil is no longer tacky.  The photo below shows you what it looks like after one coat, so it definitely needed more coats.

Apply the Stain and Finishing Oil with a staining pad, and be sure to remove any excess stain within 5-10 minutes of application. If you leave any extra on, it will go tacky in those areas, and will actually get a higher sheen too because the resin is thicker in that spot. If you like the look of the SFO after one or two coats you can stop there, if you wish to add extra durability you can add a coat of the clear “Natural” SFO so as not to deepen the colour, but rather add even more durability and protection.

STEP 3

MILK PAINT HACK

Instead of also stripping the apron, legs and so forth (which can be immensely time-consuming if you have curved or detailed edges on them) they were painted instead Homestead House Milk Paint in Chocolate, but in a way to make it look like a stain instead of an obvious paint job. We added some Bonding Agent/ Ultra Grip to ensure it did not chip off this shiny varnished finish.

In order to make milk paint look like a stain and not a paint, (to compliment the stained table top), mix up the paint a little thinner, approximately 3 parts water to 1 part powder milk paint.

Looking at this, would you be able to tell they’re not the same? It’s a really great trick to make the two finishes look similar.

The end result speaks for itself. Milk paint is great for this reason whereas if you need a solid opaque coverage, for that we highly recommend using Fusion Mineral Paint instead. The sections that were milk painted were sealed with Fusion Furniture Wax. This is a close-up of the leg so you can see how it really turned out.

STEP 4

PREPPING THE CHAIRS

Let’s get to the chairs. Now you know we always say Prep is the most important part of any painting process and this was no exception. The original finish on the chairs was very shiny so a good scuff-sanding on the areas that were being painted was absolutely needed so new paint could adhere properly. Fusion’s TSP is a great solution here! Don’t skip this step. It is absolutely crucial to getting the best finish. You’ve worked so hard on a project, that the last thing you want is any unwanted surprises.

STEP 5

PAINTING THE CHAIRS

The chairs were painted in Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash which really has great coverage. One coat and a little touch-up here and there was all they needed. A total of six chairs were painted, even though we only shared four in this post. One pint of Fusion covered them all.

STEP 6

STYLE YOUR NEW DINING TABLE!

We have a gorgeous, new winter-styled dining table! Perfect to host get together and spend time together with friends and family, to help you get through those cold winter months. Imagine how gorgeous this will look in the Fall as well.

One thing to note, is that after the coats of the Stain & Finishing Oil have dried properly and you find some areas dried more matte than others, especially where the grain is, you can lightly sand those areas with a #0000 Steel Wool. That will smooth everything out evenly and also add a bit of a sheen.

That rich wood grain is absolutely elegant!

We have a lot of fans of our Stain & Finishing Oil, it’s one of the only products to get its own nickname so it’s definitely being used on a variety of projects, all of which you can find by searching our Paint it Beautiful group.

You’re indoors for a lot of the time and having an environment that makes you feel good, is really important to your well-being. Whether that’s adding some new pillows and blankets to your couch or putting up those shelves in the kitchen to allow you to get everything you need when you bake, finishing up a project that can benefit your peace of mind is a great idea! And in this case, transforming a tired table with Fusion Stain and Finishing Oil was the perfect winter pick-me-up.

What do you think of the end result? Let us know and if you try this at home, we absolutely would love to see it.

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