Something Old, Something New

Obviously no more wedding bells are ringing around here, but the title for this post is still appropriate. I told you in last week's High Five we had a special delivery Saturday, and I'm excited to reveal it! (I'm probably more excited than any of you will be, but moving on...)

Several weeks ago Jesse and I went home to look at/work on a project. My mom has always had the same dining room table. A chunky, heavy, simple, wooden table that's been around since...maybe before I was born?  I'm not sure, but I remember this table being our dining table my entire life. It's in the background of photographs and home videos. I'm sure I blew out many birthday candles on this very table.  But it's also special because my dad made it. For those of you that haven't known me long, my dad passed away when I was young from multiple sclerosis. Most of my memories of him are in a wheelchair or scooter to get around, so he loved wood-working, for as long as he could, because it was something he could do with his hands.  I remember going into his workshop, where the ground was covered with wood shavings and smelled earthy like pine or cedar.
Recently my mom and step-dad bought a new table and I inherited the table my dad made. I am so excited to have it!  1) because it's a treasure and 2) because I wanted to replace the patio-style table we currently had in our dining area.  And this new old table would fit perfectly in our small space! Here's what it looked like before:

As you can tell, it has places that tell it's been around for a while- with all of it's scratches and dents and scrapes. We knew it needed to be re-finished somehow, and we also thought it would be a good idea to stain it a different color - something a little darker and more modern. We chose a deep espresso stain and went to work one weekend at Jesse's parents' home. They helped us sand, and sand, and sand, then apply the stain, and we left without seeing the final dried product.  Several days later my mother-in-law sent me a picture of the table and I was overjoyed - it looked fabulous! The dark shade was beautiful with lighter areas mixed in that really made the grain of the wood pop!  Then she confessed:  the stain Jesse and I applied looked really bad once dried, so they re-sanded the table and re-stained it - all without stressing me out about it's initial failure! We went home for a final look and it was just as beautiful in person! They applied a poly sealant, then delivered the table and its chairs to us last weekend. (I'm pretty sure I have the best in-laws!)

Ready for the grand reveal?
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And it still has all of it's marks of love...

I added a table runner, gray place mats, and napkins to help tie in our black and white dishes (not pictured) with the brown tones. (All of these are from World Market, and I got a great deal on them!) And we finally get to use our napkin rings we received as wedding gifts!

Isn't it gorgeous?!!! We aren't sure what we'll do about the chairs just yet. To stain, or not to stain. Or replace (they weren't handmade)... we'll see.  I'm so thankful to have this piece my dad made. And now it is even more special because my mom loved it for many years, Jesse and I worked on it together, and his parents worked on it to help transform it to its current state. That's quiet the family effort! I will cherish this piece all the years to come!