To "new" or to "re-do"

A couple of months ago, we decided to take on a project that we have been wanting to do for awhile: revamp our dining room table and chairs.

Originally, I just wanted Shane to sand out the many scratches (matchbox car derbies anyone?) and spots where the finish was worn completely down (mommy rubbing crayon marks off the table a little too vigorously, I guess) and put a new layer of clear lacquer on the top.

I'm so glad Shane had a better vision!  He grabbed the boys one day, 

took the set out to the garage, and got to work.

Each boy got a turn or two with the sander.

Cameron was so funny--he said he liked how the sander on the table

made his ears feel funny! That kid. :)

My sweet Ethan, enjoying his turn with the power tools

Cameron's turn--and Ethan with his head on the table now! *giggle*

Daddy decided to distress the table a bit.

He added some "worm holes"....

....and some deep scratches.

{Overseeing the boys with the sander}

Distressing the sides of the table

After everything was sanded and distressed, it was time for a good cleaning to get allllll the dust off!

"I'm good with a paintbrush. I can help stain, right? Don't you trust me?!"

Time for the stain!

The boys were absolutely enamored with this process. It was really cute to watch.

The worm holes and scratches after the stain had been applied

A big color difference from before to after!

Completely done with coat number one

After the table was done (one more coat of stain and several coats of polyeurathane) it was on to the chairs. Boy, that was a project. Yowsers. Sanding our chairs was incredibly time consuming and painstaking work, due to the lattice work on both sides of the backs of the chairs. We estimated that the sanding alone took us about 20 hours. But they were worth it!

Shane putting the cushions back on

After Shane got the chairs in, he decided he was ready to take on one more project 

that we have talked about doing for a while: building a bench. It was done in a few 

hours, and it has quickly become the favorite seat in the house!

My beautiful Lolee enjoying some lunch :)

Favorite spot. See!?

The last step was personalizing the bench. Shane wanted something we'd remember....

 ....so each child got their hand prints stamped into the inside of the bench.

(Shane made it to open, like a piano bench.)

Ethan's turn

Lola was very excited to "paint."

One hand at a time....

She definitely loved the idea of painting more than actually having paint on her fingers. *grin*

{Note to self: do more messy, hands-on projects with Lola}

I love how it turned out! Such a great keepsake.

So now, my table matches my hutch! I love how everything turned out!

Another project in the books! Whooo hoooooo!