Sunday 7 July 2013

Table trauma...

Remember I showed you my dining table?


With it's lovely aged patina? Well, I waxed it and it looked a bit orange. I hated it. So I wet some wire wool with white spirit and scrubbed the wax off. It turns out that lovely aged patina was mostly dirt. (Eew!) It all scrubbed away leaving a rather unsplendid looking newish pine table.

Oops.


I've killed it.
It dried paler but it still looks orange to me.


Table leg before

Table leg after

What I'd like is a Scandinavian looking pale scrubbed pine table top. Like this:



(This is rougher than my table)

I could do this in several ways.
Firstly with a paint wash to add paleness with the wood grain still showing through. I did this on my last table. Second, I could use a white wood dye which would penetrate the wood further than paint sitting on the top. And third, I could use a wood bleach to actually take the natural colour out of the wood. And this third method is what I'm leaning towards. I like the idea of taking out the colour rather than adding whiteness. More honest.

I have never used wood bleach before. To get the best result apparently I need a two part wood bleach which can be tricky to use and the surface is large so it's going to be hard to get an even coverage.

I was hoping this table would be our 'forever' table. If this goes wrong, it will just be another one of the many tables that come and go from this house. Boo hoo.

Today was my 43rd birthday. It's been a perfect day incorporating a boot sale and a bit of table scrubbing. What more could I ask for?

The greatest gift I ever received was exactly seven years ago tomorrow. A slightly late birthday present.



So the bunting is out for double celebrations.


Tonight I shall be catching up with the rest of the country by watching the first episode of the new series of Luther. Cannot wait!


22 comments:

  1. Happy Birthdays you two :)

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  2. Happy Birthday to both of you!

    Oh my! I must say that I much preferred the before shot and the 'wish it looked' like shot. Who knew dirt could create such a lovely colour/effect.

    I hope you will be braver then me watching Luther as I got about 15mins in and had to switch it off.

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    1. Thanks Rebecca, I much prefer the before shot too. What have I done?!

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  3. Happy Birthday!!! Hope your table turns out how you want it xx

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  4. Now call me slightly left behind but I've never watched Luther - hmm maybe it's something I need to catch up on! Happy birthday to all x Jane

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  5. Happy Birthday to both you and your daughter! My 'big girl' will be 25 on Thursday - I have no idea where the years have gone. I hope you manage to get the table looking how you want it to!

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  6. happy birthdays!!! whaty a cute baba!
    love that scrubbed pine look so looking forward to finding out how you get on. is wood bleach a commercial product or something you can make yourself?
    max x

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    1. Thanks Max. I believe you can make it yourself and there are recipes on the web, but I am no chemist and it'll be easier for me to obtain wood bleach than all the ingrediants!

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  7. Idris Elba makes the best birthday treat ever - love Luther (even though it scares me silly) and adore him even more!
    Happy belated birthday! xxx

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  8. Happy birthday wishes to you and your daughter! I read a post only recently I found on Modern Country Style where Sarah painted her table top with a white-washy effect, if it's of any interest, I found the link here: http://moderncountrystyle.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/paint-please-link-partyoh-and-my-table.html

    Good luck, but I'm sure however you do it will be really nice. I like the sound of the bleached wood effect personally. Antonia xx

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    1. Thanks Antonia, I had a look at it. That's sort of how I've done it in the past but if you use a sponge and go from one side of the table to the other you won't get any patchiness. And I don't use that paint. But a painted top will always have limited durability so I'd rather try something else.
      We'll see if it works! xx

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  9. Awwww :) Happy birthday to you and your lovely little girl! I hope you both had a wonderful day and you got to eat twice as much birthday cake :) xxx

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    1. Thanks Katie. I haven't had ANY cake! I shall rectify this right now! xxx

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  10. Happy birthday, Emma Kate! And the same to Constance, hope she's had a lovely day - she and Nina (Littlest) are the same age. Y3 in September, can you believe it? That is one adorable baby pic, btw.
    I have complete faith that your table will look fine, whatever you do with it. Bleach always sounds a bit scary, don't you think? But you are the lady who knows about this stuff, so in your capable hands, all will be well.
    xxxxx

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    1. Thanks Curtise. If you're ever in Hitchin we should have a playdate! ;) xxxx

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  11. Happy belated birthday Emma Kate! Sorry I missed your post I have been ill all weekend and have only just summoned up the strength to turn the computer on! I think what ever you choose to do to the table will be perfect, you have lovely taste.

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    1. Thanks Anne, sorry to hear you've been poorly. I hope you'll be feeling better soon!

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