My First Refinish

So I was browsing through Pinterest looking for something cool to do to refinish my boring old kitchen table.  I saw a project that involved stenciling with white paint and staining over the top for a really cool effect and I was hooked.  My husband was super hesitant because the table came from his Grandpa and he didn't want me to ruin it.  RUIN????  Like any of my artwork ruins ANYTHING!

I was trying hard to be understanding while at the same time being like, "but the table is so UGLY."  I realized that if I was willing to "sacrifice" something of mine and it turned out amazing, he would be on board.  Enter piano bench from my childhood.

Oh Hey, there is a picture of cute me standing on the bench!  There is another photo somewhere of me as a 6month old baby sitting on the bench "playing" this piano.
This bench has been around as long as me and even before me.  It has made it through so many moves.  When I left for college my Dad put it on the curb as junk one day and I happened to come home for a surprise visit.  It turned out to be a rescue mission as I yanked that bench up and said, "How could you throw this out to the curb????  It is one of my earliest memories!"  Since that time, the bench has lived with me.  It has been a piano bench, a tv stand, a stereo stand, an aquarium/terrarium stand and now is an end table in our home.  An end table that was ready for a change.

I gathered my materials which were pretty inexpensive really since I already had the piece of furniture.

 

 I found the stencils I wanted to use.  I used a round small brush, masking tape to tape the stencil and white paint to begin the process.  As I was working on it, using the dry brush technique and waiting in between stencils (i used 2 designs) for paint to dry, my 4 year old daughter became very interested in the process and wanted to help.  You can see her playing a computer math game in the corner of this pic.

Can't lie to ya, I was nervous for her to help BUT with the dry brush technique it is fairly easy to maintain the shape/stencil without bleeding and she loved participating.  I thought it was cool that we were working a project together.  She was a huge helper, enjoyed doing it and saved my neck too.

Once I was finished stenciling, the effect was really cool.

This is a close up of the pattern and 2 coats of walnut stain.  The idea is to use a sponge brush to apply stain and then wipe it clean with a rag.  Once I was finished, I decided I wanted it to be darker so I applied another coat of stain and used the wiping technique and this is how it turned out.

The final step was the polyurethane, also applied with a sponge brush.  No wiping necessary for this step just apply as many coats as you like, the more the glossier.  I did 2 coats of polyurethane.  The actual finished product was so beautiful.

I couldn't wait to show my husband and to put it in our living room!  I couldn't wait to show my Dad who had abandoned the poor bench as trash years ago!  Needless to say, it turned out great and gave my husband the faith he needed to give me the go ahead for the kitchen table.  Don't know what I'm gonna do for that refinish but I can assure you I will share it with you all.