Anyone who knows me, knows no matter how well I plan things, I always end up doing things backwards. Perhaps I think ahead too far and get ahead of myself? Jump to my new kitchen table, when we haven't yet remodeled the kitchen.
The backstory: My uncle had back surgery in May, and yours truly had nursing duties yet again. Being over there at my grandparents' old house (and mine for almost 4 years) brought a few things back to mind, not the least of which was the necessity of getting that garage cleaned out. It was a job my cousin and I were never able to finish (due to said uncle, who also has pack rat tendencies.) So while he was bemoaning what he couldn't do any more, I was busy planting ideas to make him realize he COULD clean the garage out, with my help -- which lead to this:
It took me almost a month to decide to take this table on. It was my great-grandparents' kitchen table from the 1950s. It came to live with my grandparents around 1975, where I remember it as the table in the back kitchen, where we used to fold laundry on it. In 1991, when my grandparents retired from farming and built the house across the road, it moved over there where Grandma used it as an island in the kitchen. Of course, it clashed with 1991 country kitchen decor, so she painted the metal off-white and put contact paper on it. (Cringe but be thankful, folks!) After Grandma got her real island, it went out into the garage in the corner and held things for the next 25 years, until I rescued it August 12th.
With the paint stripped and contact paper off, it doesn't look half bad, does it? Once I knew the table was still good -- thanks to the paint and contact paper that protected it, then I was willing to look at the chairs. Of the 3 chairs -- yes, my great-grandparents only bought 3 chairs with it -- this was the best one. Grandma mended it with wood-grain contact paper first, then Grandpa with duct tape later.
See what I mean?
And the final results:
Not too shabby, eh? I'm very proud of it.
I splurged and bought red cracked ice vinyl to match the top, though the top is faded. It's about 65-70 years old, I'd guess. I was asked if I was going to get new laminate for the top. Heck no! I want it to look good for its age, not new, and besides, if I had found some vinyl that looked more like the colors in the top, I would have gone with that. After all, this came out of my grandma's family, and they were the sort of people to make something useful and not worry if it was original or not. I haven't fixed the leaf yet, but I will.
Like chair number 4? My great-grandparents only had 3 chairs because that was what they needed (and had room for), but I had a chair with a cracked seat. A little extra vinyl, and there I go -- a 4th chair that kinda matches but doesn't.
If only the rest of the kitchen were this easy......
