Refinishing an Oak Pedestal Game Table... {Part 5}

This is the final blog post about our Oak Pedestal Game Table refinish. This has been such a great project. If you'd like to read the previous posts, just click on:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

&

Part 4

We finished the table last week by anchoring the top to the bottom (screws), placing the new area rug, and by assembling the chairs. I'd found these chairs on Target.com a while back and loved them, but when I visited my daughter's home a couple of months ago, she had the the bar stool version of the chairs and seeing them in person sealed the deal. I also made a centerpiece to add a little color when we're not using it...

I love how the chairs play off the table -- both with caramel/chocolate tops and black bases. Plus I like mixing the traditional style table with the mid-century style chairs. It makes for a fun combination...

I chose an 8'x10' Amazon rug for the space. I have this same rug in a smaller size in the TV area of the loft (see top in photo). I tried another rug first, but it competed with the one I already had too much, so I settled on this one.

Once again I love the top of this table. The quarter sawn wood is absolutely beautiful. The striations are so unusual. It's what makes this table unique.

From the top of the table to the bottom -- the casters -- it's beautiful! And... need I remind you, we bought it for $50. I probably spent at least $50 on supplies to refinish it, but now that I have those supplies I can use them on multiple projects.

When we first moved into our house we wondered what we could do with this space. It's a large loft with railings on either side {no "walls"}, so it's kind of unique. We thought about a grand piano, except we don't play the piano. {That idea was short lived.} Then I thought of a game table. We loved the idea of having a designated space for games -- rather than a dining table. I scoured all the furniture stores nearby to no avail. Most of the tables were expensive and poorly made. That's when I went to Facebook Marketplace and found this beauty after about 5 days of searching! I fell in love immediately.

We initiated the table last Saturday night with a few games of Kings in the Corner. It was a big success!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Refinishing an Oak Pedestal Game Table... {Part 4}

Part 4 of our table refinish demonstrates how I refinished the base of our pedestal table. You will remember that when we bought the table it looked like this...

It definitely had a yellow tinge to it. It was not very attractive, but it had a ton of potential and the price {$50} was just right.

In earlier posts I demonstrated the stripping process (Part 1), the staining process (Part 2), and the finishing process of the table top (Part 3).  In this post I will show how I refinished the base or pedestal of the table.

I decided early on that I wanted to paint the bottom of the table. I love the look of two-toned furniture items, so this seemed like a given. Plus, stripping a flat surface is relatively easy, but stripping a curved surface {the rounded pedestal} is harder. I like easy. I chose the color black for the base, but I considered white, off-white, or gray. Any of those would have been lovely.

It's much easier painting an item rather than stripping an item and re-staining it. One doesn't have to go through the stripping process if you are going to use paint. I lightly sanded the bottom of the table with an orbital sander and by hand and that was it. The object of the sanding is to rough up the surface a smidge so the paint will adhere nicely. I didn't use wood filler in any of the scratch marks or imperfections because I love those. It shows the table had a life before us and was well-loved. I bought a black satin spray paint with a primer built-in. Make sure you use a paint with a primer. A primer will seal the original material so the paint doesn't soak into it, requiring extra coats. Another tip -- buy a Spray Can Grip Accessory. It is so much easier to get a nice, even spray with one of these.  Your furniture will look much more like it was professionally painted!

Also, if you want a nice drip free project, spray on several light coats, rather than heavy coats, thus avoiding running or dripping paint. Do you see the image below? The arrow points to a spot that was not fully covered by the first coat of paint. That's a good thing. Several light coats will give you a much better result than one heavy one.

Here is the base of the table after three coats of black primer and paint. This was right after I painted it so it looks a little glossy.

I used a coat of Varathane Clear Satin Oil-Based Spar Urethane Spray to finish it. This particular urethane is self leveling and gave the base a gorgeous satin finish. Plus, it's hard as nails.

When that was completed all we did was screw on the casters. My heart did a pitter-patter when we added these. So beautiful...

We haven't actually screwed the top of the table to the base yet, and the rug that will be placed beneath it hasn't arrived, but here's a sneak peak at the finished project. Oh... I also have to assemble the chairs, so there will be be a Part 5 to this adventure in the near future, until then...

Have a wonderful week!