Refinishing an Antique...Have no Fear!

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This beautiful antique farm table was hand made by my husband's Great Grandfather!  However, when it was given to us it had seen better days that's for sure.  Unfortunately I don't have a before picture, but it was light oak, gray with age and showed several decades of wear and tear!  As a result, it sat in our attic for many years until the day I decided to take a leap of faith and bring this table back to life! 

Yup, I went for it...put my fears aside and refinished this old piece using MinWax Gel stain!  The project took about one full week to finish with lots of sanding, staining, and finally applying 2 -3 top coats of polyeurethane.  And the splurge with this project was the addition of four Pottery Barn chairs in vintage mahogany with rush seats. Just what this one of a kind Antique farm table needed! 

2017 Update!  Check out our antique table now.  It's the same table, we just removed a few of those awesome leaves to make the table smaller, allowing space for new Ikea upholstered chairs.  Now the smaller table fits the scale of our kitchen better, and the white chairs make everything feel lighter & brighter, I love that!

So what Antiques do you have in your attic?  Have you avoided restoring them for fear you may ruin them forever?  Well what good are they in the attic when you can't enjoy them every day?  I say do your research, jump right in and go for it!   Because if I can do it, anyone can ;)