Furniture Makeover  – A Little Tilt Top Table for the Breakfast Nook

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Happy week-end, dear friends! It’s been a busy couple of weeks at our house, with much catching up to do on projects and schoolwork following our trip to DC and I, reluctantly, let go of my usual posting schedule. But I missed you all and so, even though it’s the weekend and you’re probably out and about, doing what busy bees do on weekends, I thought I’d quickly check in and share with you a fun furniture makeover I’ve just completed and that I’m very excited about. 

When it comes to decorating, there are few things I enjoy more than a good furniture makeover. Saving unwanted pieces and keeping them out of the landfill is good for the soul, as well as the planet, but reimagining them in a fresh, new way and then finding the right place for them in our homes can be an incredibly creative and particularly rewarding experience. Now, I’m not saying you go out and start a potentially messy and life-disrupting furniture makeover of your own but, if the opportunity presents itself, and you see piece with stunning legs and alluring proportions but worse for wear, give it a second thought. It might surprise you. 

Today’s story is an old-fashioned furniture makeover, and my first serious adventure in furniture refinishing. It all started with a little table I found on the side of the road and brought home. I’d prayed for this table and wished for it dearly (I’m not exaggerating), and there it was, mine for the taking. It had seen better days, of course, and needed some serious glowing up, but I’m still pinching myself that she’s so pretty, and she’s mine. 

If we’re to be technical, according to my sources (Google search 🙂 ), she is a Victorian pedestal table with a charming, if old-fashioned, tilt top mechanism. I could’t one-hundred-percent identify the wood species (maybe you can help me with that), but I had a visceral reaction to its rich, warm toffee color veneer and lovely curves. The 30” diameter tabletop and delicate figure are a plus, and make it a perfect fit for the recently built breakfast nook in our kitchen.

The interesting part is that I’d seen tables just like it on Chairish (most of them in the thousands, so a hard no) and I was about to order an unfinished wood replica from Amazon for a fraction of the cost, right around the time I found her. If you’re on the market as well, here is the link to the tables I’d nearly bought.

Dining Table, 30 inches wide, Unfinished

Wooden Dropleaf Table with pedestal base, unfinished

Since it was going to work as a breakfast table, several issues had to be addressed. First, it had to be cleaned, refinished and properly sealed. The tilt top mechanism was intact and functional, thought a bit rusty, while the tabletop was in pretty bad shape, covered in paint splatter and years of grime. When I started, I was terrified I’d ruin the veneer by having to sand too deep but I had help with the sanding, and went slowly, and it all worked out beautifully.  

Second, the table needed to have a comfortable height for eating – dining tables are typically 30 inches high – and so at only 27 inches I had to, somehow, find a way to add 3 inches to its height without ruining the integrity of such an old and well-made piece. I looked at different options and in the end decided to go with leg extenders. I’d found some on Amazon and they came with casters which were easy to install and looked very chic. The problem was, when the legs arrived they were way too big for the table, though excellent if you’re wanting to upgrade the legs on your sofa. 

In the end I trimmed down the bulkier parts of the legs, and ended up three pieces, each a with a little over 3 inches high, which I then attached onto the table legs. I will spare you the gory details of that particular process but I’ll just say that it wasn’t pretty, and several bandaids were needed and used. But this is DIY for the optimist, so at least there was no need for stitches, and now the table is finished, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

Here’s what I used: 

The wood stain was a pain to get right, but the effort of getting it wrong the first time was almost worth it: Colonial Maple, with its golden undertones, was just what I wanted, and what this table needed, I think. 

A clear water – based protective coat for a durable finish that can withstand daily use as a breakfast table. I went with four light coats, softly sanding between layers.

As for power tools, this is what I found extremely useful in the sanding process: a detail sander, perfect for the nooks and crannies of the table base; a band sander for the top made my work quick and painless.

I also used an assortment of sanding papers ranging from 80, 140, 220 to 320 grit.

Leg extenders – I’ve always adored turned legs on casters so if you, too, feel strongly about them, these ones would do wonders and upgrade the look of any sofa. 

Sofa / Armchair Leg Extenders on Casters – Set of 4

Thanks for reading! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!