My "NEW" table

Ok... so I'm an addict! I LOVE painted furniture! In previous posts, you've seen Joshua's big boy room and our kitchen table. My next big plan has been a harvest table for our dining room. It's a long room, but the real kicker was that I wanted a space where we could all fit (both sides of the family) now that I've started hosting some holidays. Easter was a tight squeeze with tables put together and the kids at the coffee table but if I was going to make a change, I HAD TO do it on a bargain. Go buy the table I wanted??? You're talking thousands of dollars! So, I did some resale shopping in several locations, over a couple of months, and had a vision with these pieces!

This table was pretty damaged... solid piece in GREAT structural shape, just scratched up and had some "repair" spots that, let's just say, weren't done by a pro! This was the first piece we bought and my wonderful husband surprised me with it, believing that I must have had a plan if I'd stopped in three times to look at it... and we paid a WHOLE $90!

It's 10 feet long with these two leaves!

 My "vision" included 6 chairs, but I wanted the two end chairs to be different. So, when in Graham over Spring Break, I found 4 of these guys for super cheap and knew exactly how I'd get them to be what I wanted!

For the two head chairs, I went back and forth. Arms or no arms? Upholstered or wood? I found several options but all were a bit more than I wanted to spend on just two chairs, so I found these at the end of their "time" at a resale shop and got a great deal!

The lady at the resale shop for the final two chairs also knew I was looking for benches. Do you know how hard it is to find two benches that match and are cheap? And are the EXACT length you would need to fill the length of a 10ft table? It's tough! Believe me! I looked... and looked... and looked. Then she called and said she had a man make me some and leave them plain since she knew I would paint them anyway. She told me over the phone if I didn't like them, she would price them and just sell them in her store. Let's just say they were my SPLURGE in the purchase, but when you've gotten a 10ft table and 6 chairs for less than $200, it's worth it to complete the set! And now that it's done, it was SO worth it!

 Oh, and she showed him a picture of the two head chairs I'd bought and he made the legs of the benches to match! Seriously awesome!

So, then I had to decide on color scheme. I wanted to lighten up my dining room because we're getting wood floors later this summer and I thought it would keep the whole space more balanced. After getting about 20 swatches of different paint options, I went with gray and white. Paris Grey of the Annie Sloan variety and I did the homemade chalk paint for the white. I've ALWAYS loved every Annie Sloan piece I've seen in the Paris Grey so was confident I would be happy with the finish.

Drumroll please....

 

Fabric choice was another story completely! I went back and forth so many times, took pictures of ALL the fabrics I liked and tried to steer away from reds (because that's what I always go to!). I came up with a set of two that coordinate and allows me to bring a mustard/gold into the room. I may be brave enough to paint the hutch in front of the window that color... maybe, maybe not. Black is another, safer option. 

 

And, in an attempt to keep my work off the new table, I found this beauty online for a steal and love having a little "space" to the side for my "office".