Extreme Home Makeover: Craigslist Edition

We'd like to present our first big "house" project. We refinished a coffee table and end table we bought off Craigslist. We bought the set for $75 from an older man selling his deceased brother's furniture....ahhhh Craigslist, you just never know what you're going to get.

Here's what they looked like the day we got them.



They were in fair condition to begin with, but definitely had a few scratches and noticeable wear.


They are solid wood. Not a piece of wood vaneer, plywood, or particle board. We found that solid wood tables retail for more than $500, so we figured we'd save some moolah (to put towards other new furniture we're going to need such as couches and dining set).

We researched online how to refinish wood, and everything I read said it's a lot of work. And in retrospect I would have to agree.


Here's the play-by-play. The whole process took us about 2 weeks.

1. Remove old stain by applying wood stripper and removing with rags and putty knives (definitely the most cumbersome step)


2. Apply mineral spirits to help dilute any stripper left in the wood


3. Sand tables and wipe off dust

4. Apply desired stain and wipe with rag to blend light and dark areas


5. Reapply second coat of stain

6. Apply polyurethane (to seal stain)

7. Lightly sand

8. Reapply second coat of polyurethane

And here's the finished product:



You might notice that the wood is "distressed" which was nice because it sort of makes all of our imperfections just seam like part of the look.


I hope to do more furniture refinishing in the future!