The Simple Makeover That Made Me Love My Dining Table Again (For Around $110)

Our dining table had seen better days. From food stains to… well… paint stains (don’t ask me why that might have happened), it definitely needed some love.

We contemplated purchasing a new table altogether, but they’re so expensive. So instead I found a dining table that I loved and decided to makeover our existing table in a similar way.

THE SIMPLE MAKEOVER THAT MADE ME LOVE MY DINING TABLE AGAIN (FOR AROUND $110)

STEP 1: GATHER YOUR MATERIALS

I started out by coming up with a plan. My dining table had a wood top with white legs. I didn’t want to sand them down, but I did want the whole table to look like wood. So I decided to use paint and gel stain to make magic happen.

Then I had another crazy idea… more on that in a minute.

Here’s what I used…

STEP 2: SAND & PAINT THE TABLE

I started out by sanding off all the stains on the table with a medium grit sandpaper. I followed that with a fine grit before wiping it clean with a tack cloth and bringing it back inside.

Then I grabbed some Tangled Tan paint by Sherwin Williams in a matte finish and gave the entire table a coat.

STEP 3: STAIN THE TABLE

Once it was dry, I mixed together a gel stain combo and grabbed a firm paint brush.

I used 1 part Simply White, 1 part Slate, and 3 parts Aged Oak Gel Stain by Minwax.

I dabbed my brush in the stain and brushed it over the paint in the direction of the wood to create a wood grain effect!

I just added more stain and continued to blend until I liked the look.

STEP 4: ADD CLAY TO THE LEGS

Here’s when things got a little crazy… my inspo dining table had rounded legs that I fell in love with. But again, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on this table! So instead I grabbed some air dry clay and molded it around the legs. I smoothed it out with water until I got the shape I wanted!

Then, I let it dry completely before painting and staining it to match the table.

STEP 5: SEAL IT

I let the table dry fully for 72 hours, then I sealed it with Varathane’s Crystal Clear polyurethane in a matte finish! This really matters not only to protect the table but also to give the entire piece a uniform finish.

I added 3 full coats of poly using a foam roller. I also made sure to backroll each section I sealed to make sure there were no roller strokes left behind.

I cannot get over this one! I absolutely LOVE this table and I love even more how much I saved by doing it myself!

What do you think? Will you try this one out yourself?