Turning Over a New Leaf

I have a few memories in my life that I can almost “watch” like I’m watching a favorite movie again. Do you have those? The moments are so vivid! I can remember the colors and surroundings extraordinarily well. I suppose these aren’t always ‘favorite’ moments – sometimes they aren’t the best memories. But the bulk of these vivid memories are happy ones for me.

One of these is centered around watching my Mom paint an old table she owned. I have always been a lover of history and family and, in particular, family history. So my love for this table came naturally. I remembered that the table was pink and she painted it light green. And I can remember – vividly – watching her brush flow over the table. I could tell she loved the table and that was enough to make me love the table. Once I got a bit older and could appreciate such things simply for what they are, I fell even more in love with it.

Now the table is in my possession. It has had many years of just sitting in one corner or another. I won’t say it has been neglected because each person who has had current possession of it has recognized it’s value and appreciated it. But it has just not reached it’s full potential for quite some time. I have long had the dream of removing the layers of paint to see what lays beneath and possibly unleashing some new potential for it’s future.

I’m happy to say that I finally started that project this week!

The drop-leaf table before refinishing began. It has probably been about forty years since it was painted green. Both leaves still work, but there is some wood damage at the seams. For the most part, however, dents and cracks on the surfaces are at a minimum.

All four sides of the table top have these lovely motifs routed into them. I’m guessing they give us some idea of the age of the table – maybe 1920 – 1940? I really hope someone with way more knowledge than me about such things will be able to give me an idea. At any rate, I’m anxious to get the paint off and see what kind of shape the motifs are in. Have they been preserved by the paint? Or are they damaged under there?

I have purchased and gathered all my supplies and I am excited to get started. I specifically selected the Citristrip Stripping Gel* to try first because everything I read in my research said it was gentle even while being very effective. Even though I realize this is a piece of wood furniture, it is an old piece and I’d like to do whatever I can to protect it. I figure I’ll start with the most gentle product and work my way to more serious products only if I have to.

I do not expect this to be a quick project. This is a labor of love and I want to give this baby the care she deserves. But I will keep you posted!

*This is not a sponsored post. None of the products mentioned or pictured in this post were provided to me for free or in exchange for an endorsement. All opinions are my own.