18 Sep Bar/Butcher Block Table Makeover

When we first were married, we had little to no furniture so we went to A LOT of yard sales.

We found a few treasures and a lot of junk. Among the treasures was this butcher block table that we bought for $5.

When we bought it, the bottom part of the table was white but it had a lot of stains on it so I quickly painted it. This was one of my first stabs at it where I used Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze. This wasn’t bad but it was too dark for me and I knew I wanted to eventually stain the top from this natural wood color to a darker color.

So I went to work…I covered the top with paper and Frog painter’s tape.

Next, I sprayed it with a can of cheap (97 cents) Wal-mart brand white spray paint to use as a primer and to save on the amount of cans I’d need to use on the good stuff (Rust-Oleum).

Then gave it a couple coats of Rust-Oleum’s white satin spray paint.

Once the bottom was spray painted white, I worked on the top wood stain.
First, I tried Minwax Early American but that was a little on the light side for me. Then, I tried Minwax Dark Walnut but it was still too light. Finally, I went over it with Minwax Jacobean and was quite pleased with how it came out. I guess you could say that all three played a role in the finished look.

To finish it off, I sprayed a light coat of Minwax Clear Semi Gloss Polyurethane.

And voila! The finished table.

Here’s a close-up of the stain. I like how the lighter colors shine through just a tad.

Not a bad little table for 5 buckaroos! 🙂