Let me introduce to you my My new-to-me Farmhouse Table! I am soo stinking excited to have most of this done!
Seems to be a common theme from my last couple of threads, but soon you’ll see why this one isn’t completely done.

Sanding this beautiful piece of wood! She has great bones, so if down the road I change my mind and want to re-stain her. She will be beautiful that way too!
With my hubby’s help, we got this HEAVY table top outside where I could work on sanding her mostly smooth. She was in rough but somewhat surprisingly great shape!
She has great bones!

Part of my process. I like to paint the underside of my furniture when it’s upside down if I can. It’s surprisingly easy to miss spots if I don’t.
Here, my dining room has officially become my painting area! Notice my checkered bench, I decided to sand her down and repaint her, AGAIN! Now she is a simple all white bench I bought from an auction for $4.00.

Back to my almost new table! Once I was finally ready to paint the actual tabletop, I was both excited AND nervous!
My dining room is also my entryway! This part of the furniture is on display all the time and I didn’t want to mess up. Plus my hubby was getting excited by this point and was really liking my progress! I ended up painting the entire piece with 2 thin coats of Dixie Belle’s Caviar paint. I use this color all the time with my personalized signs and stripes for my whimsy frames for my canvas art.

By the time I painted the table top the second coat my hubby got a wild idea!
Not sure if you noticed my post on Instagram and Facebook where I asked for advice regarding painting or staining this area.
But after I had painted my second coat on the table top, my hubby thought it would be a GREAT idea to stain the table skirt instead of painting it all black!
Only one problem. I painted the three table leaves first and the skirt on the leaves are now black!

Well, I decided to give staining a try and I figured if I didn’t love it, I could lightly sand the skirt down again and paint her all black. Turns out, we LOVE it!
After staining with Dixie Belles No Pain Gel Stain in Walnut, I decided to “seal” it with Hemp Oil which deepened the look of the wood grain and will seal as it cures. This worked out great! I love Hemp Oil and scented Furniture Salve so if I need to reapply, it’s as easy as wiping it on and buffing!
The areas of the table that are painted, I used Gatorhide to seal since they will be getting a lot of use. I don’t mind a somewhat rustic look. So if i get a few dings, scratches or wear areas, when I’m ready I’ll just lightly sand the area and repaint!
Sorry I don’t have an actual video of the process. During this time I was still trying to figure out my YouTube channel, Melissa Peterson Designs.
Between painting my studio and the other projects I was completing in June, I honestly didn’t think of it. I did put together a little 2 minute video collage, just click above to view!
P.S. Ignore the mess in the background #reallife
I am currently reading…
The ‘Latte Factor’ by David Bach and John Mann is an interesting listen too!
I have an eclectic taste in books. I like history, fiction and I love when the two are melded together. This book does almost the same thing with finance and fiction. The author give his financial advice in a fiction type setting in honor of his beloved grandmother!
I am so happy I added this book to my to-do-list. It is definitely worth a read/listen too!

I have already started my next book, ‘In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin’ by Erick Larson.
I am not trying to get political but the saying you’re destined to repeat history if you don’t know it. I have always been amazed how a group of people could turn a blind eye to what was happening around them.
I was sold on listening to this book when I heard in an interview that it gives an account of what was going on in Germany at that time from a “visitors” perspective. It’s a good listen to so far and I’m starting Chaper 4!
My next book I have on my reading list is Brad Thor!
Once I’ve had my Brad Thor fix, I’ll need more recommendations, so send them my way!
Happy reading!
Drop me a note on what projects you’re working on and let me know if you see any projects you’d like to see me try!
I have a few in the works now that I am caught up on my “honey do” list.
Until next Sunday,
xoxo
Melissa
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