How to Easily Restain a Wooden Table and Chairs

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about a DIY project, and this one is a long time coming! I restained our kitchen table and chairs LAST summer and am just getting around to blogging about it. But better late than never, right? This table has now had three wood colors on top. The beauty of a good DIY withe something that has good bones. Here’s how to easily restain a wooden table and chairs.

The Table Before Restaining

If you have been reading for a really long time, you will remember this kitchen table has previously been stained by me before. Apparently, I just can’t get rid of this table! And I actually have no desire to get rid of it. It functions well, it’s sturdy, it seats six, and it fits our space. In short, this table has been oak (original), stained a dark walnut (in 2010), and now a gray wash (2015). Wow, this table has been around a while! I didn’t hate this stain, but we have dark hardwood floors in this house, and it was just too much dark wood.

Sanding Down the Table

To start, I dragged the table and four chairs out to the garage and sanded the heck out of them with a hand sander. Ask at your local hardware store about what grit to use with whatever you are working on. I wasn’t able to get it completely down to the bare wood, but that was okay with me to have some darker spots.

Staining the Table

After wiping down the table to make sure it was completely clean, I started applying the stain. Applying the stain is easy, it’s the waiting hours between coats that’s hard! I used two coats of Minwax Classic Gray – 271. After applying it, I thought it was looking too dark upon my first initial try. So, I added some water to it. Watering down the stain gave it more of a washed look. After I achieved the color I was going for, I applied the poly. I used several coats of this because we use this table daily and it needed good protection.

New Knobs for the Drawers

Lastly, I picked up some new knobs at Homegoods. This table has four drawers that pull out, which we never use, but the knobs are fun to change out. They are almost identical to some Anthropologie ones I was eyeing and I got all 4 of them for $10! I love how they add the finishing little bit of jewelry to the table.

I love the gray wash of the new table and chairs. It seems more us! We also added those ink blue chairs to the set a few years ago. I love the color and texture it adds to the table.

I hope you found this helpful in how to restain a wooden table a chairs. You might want to rethink that old table and chairs. A little stain and some new end chairs can really go a long way! xo