Labor of Love and a few mistakes along the way…
One of the first items that we purchased when visiting the Crumpton Auction was an old maple table with 6 of the ugliest chairs (see the before pictures below.) Not many bid on the table and we got it for a great price. We weren’t sure how to get it in the truck with all of the other things that we purchased that day and I think my mom was a little surprised that I kept bidding on stuff. It was just so exciting to bid at a live auction and for those of you that don’t know me, I have become a little competitive in my “old age.”
Mom kept commenting on the quality of the table and chairs. It was solid maple, the chairs were in good shape and it had great potential. To be honest it sat in the garage for a while as I knew it would be a big project and a “labor of love.” As the holidays approached I got the itch to work on the table. As you can see from the picture below the chairs were upholstered with a white, yellow and orange fabric screaming 70’s. The table was stained a light brown along with the bases of the table.
I was able to sand the top of the table within an hour and saw the beauty of the wood beneath. The chairs on the other hand were not so easy as I took out all of the staples holding in the padding and fabric for each chair by hand, taking a whole afternoon. I did it sitting outside, which is better than sitting behind a desk for sure.
But here is where the mistake came in. I loved the dark look of the stain as I hand-stained the table. Each coat got darker and richer; HOWEVER, when looking closely you could see many brush strokes on the table top and no matter how I ignored it or tried to fix it, I knew I couldn’t let it go that way. SO three days of carefully staining and sharing my excitement about the project on Facebook were wasted. I had to take the table back outside and sand off all of the hard work I had already put into it.
I knew what my vision was and that this piece with “good bones” was going to be a beauty it just need some tender loving care and patients. I had to again hand stain the top but used old t-shirts instead of a brush and that did the trick.
It turned out beautiful, if I say so myself, and I learned a lot along the way. If you think about it; working on this table came at a perfect time and taught me a few needed lessons.
You’re going to make some mistakes along the way and that’s ok. But don’t walk away from those mistakes own them and do what you can to fix them.
It’s good to see the beauty in things, which others may overlook. (this applies to people too)
If at first you don’t succeed- try again. Hardly anything in life turns out perfect the first time through.