I usually tell Michael J. Fox to listen to his mother…but in this case, “Be square, Marty. Be square”.
What the heck am I talking about? Our kitchen table situation…
You see, when we first moved in, we placed the round white table in there (we scored it off craigslist for $50 about two years ago)…it’s originally from CB2.
But it didn’t fill up the space and it only sat 4 at a time…so we knew that it was only a temporary solution to our kitchen table problem. Thankfully I am a packrat…and this cottage style yardsale table was packed into our basement for the last eight months.
Did you even notice the difference in the top two photos?
Yeah – I didn’t think so.
It’s not that big of a change when it comes to photos…but it functions 110% better than the round version. We can finally roll up Will’s highchair to the table for family dinners.
Plus we can now sit six.
The table definitely needs a makeover…the legs and the top both have a lot of marks and the top has seen some better days.
I’m thinking that maybe it would look good with a splash of color on the legs and a refinished top….like this Sarah Richardson design.
For now we are doing the same thing I do when my hair looks bad…cover it and stick a flower on it. Works like a charm.
So there you have it – one table switcheroo that definitely upps the functionality of our new eat-in kitchen (by the way, the eat-in kitchen is definitely top three on the biggest and best differences of the old house to this new one!)
Now to figure out the chair situation. My mom, Little Debbie gave me some old chairs of hers…but they would need some major work. MAJOR.
Have you been switching anything out lately?
I LOVE Sarah Richardson. I personally think you should do your living room very similar to her cottage living/dining room (that picture you featured!). You could totally do it with your fireplace!
I love that table, reminds me of my grandparents house and being all cuddly and happy 🙂
I was going to suggest paining it a turqoise color on the legs and a cream colour on the top… then i scrolled down and saw that photos.
Love it! :o)
I love the change! I think the fact that you have more seating by itself is great! You have a family and you need to feed them:) Especially with all that pizza you have! LOL! Question for you KB, how do you decide and plan to decorate a new space? We have our house for sale and when (hopefully soon) we move, I want a completly different decorating plan for the new house. I love the open/airy/clean/fresh look…whites, beiges, tans, etc. with pops of color, but I don’t know how to start that or where to integrate it with our current decorations, most of which are new that I can’t part with yet since they were from our wedding registry and I do still like them. They go with our current house which we built and it has all the ORB fixtures so the items hanging on my walls are brown/black. On the other hand, we have made our furniture negotiable with the price of our current for sale house. I’m thinking those fab white couches from Ikea or West Elm that you and Sherry seem to love can take the place of our stuff if they stay with the house…So, that may need to be changed anyway when we get to the new place, in the south! Even further south than you! Louisiana to be exact! I can’t wait to get out of WI!! Anyway, can you give me some direction or tips on how to plan or find pieces that I could purchace over time that wouldn’t break the bank? Or how to change my current pieces to make them seem new/different/airy? Or which rooms/places/pieces it’s best to start with and then build from those? Thank you!! PS, I’m loving your short but sweet posts lately, perfect for a little “during naptime” reading!
Well, that round table was too small. But I really liked that round shape better. It played up the shape of the fantastic bay/bump out and added contrast to all the rectangles in the room. But you can’t argue with the price of the rectangle one you added!
I think I have that same table. We’ve had a round table in our house for 2 years. My dad gave us a cast-off rectangular table last week (just like yours). We switched the two tables out and are amazed at how much room we have now. We pushed the new table against the wall, but can still fit 4 chairs around it. Love it!
Katie, I have a table that is very similar to yours and I just refinished it. I wrote about it here…
http://heartsdesiresathome.blogspot.com/2011/02/dining-table-refinished-i-promised-to.html
I really like the dark stained top on mine, it brings out the character aka scratches and dents 🙂 I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I love the idea of color on the legs.
By the way, Love your blog! I’m really enjoying reading about your new home and look forward to your post. I just started blogging and it is a work in progress but I’m having fun with it.
I have the exact same table. We bought it on our 10th anniversary when our 3 boys were 8, 5, and 1. When we downsized a year ago, with our boys all exactly 20 years older, and living on their own, it was a mess. But I (electric)sanded it for days, varnished it, (hand)sanded it, varnished it again, about 5 or 100 times, and painted the legs and it totally transformed it. So much so that when the decision came to downsize EVEN MORE last August I could not bring myself to give it away, even though we needed only one seating option and had a lovely dining set with a china cabinet we were also keeping.
It lives in our bedroom as a large desk and I will one day choose to get rid of the fancy dining room set and use it again. It is indestructible and perfect for our personalities. Plus … I think it will handle future grandchildren just fine.
So funny because I just switched from an oval to a bigger round table and I’m loving it! Nothing like sitting down in a space that you use every day and feel completely different!
http://houseography.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-thing-leads-to-another.html
I love that square table what a great find. It will look amazing once it is all spruced up!
Random question I know in your old house you were planning on painting your cabinets white, do you think you will eventually consider it again for this house?
Kendra
I love that square table what a great find. It will look amazing once it is all spruced up!
Random question I know in your old house you were planning on painting your cabinets white, do you think you will eventually consider it again for this house?
Kendra
The Cutting Edge!!
Toe pic!!!!
I love your blog and your writing style 🙂
And I have a little boy too, and pjs are the best. We just bought him some batman pjs at Target, and a little cape is attached to the back 🙂 Gotta love little boys!
I have a kitchen table that’s in similar condition to your new one. The fact that I’ve gotten used to looking at it as-is doesn’t mean it looks good! I want to refinish the top but am seriously intimidated at the thought. Looking forward to your how- to post when you spruce it up!
The Cutting Edge!!! Do I get the points???
My mom has that same table and painted the legs black. It looks so good now.
Movie: The Cutting Edge. Her character is such a pain in the derriere, but love the house in Greenwich!
We sure are! We just can’t fathom doing it right now with all the other crazy stuff that needs to be done!
xo – kb
maybe embrace the crazy and go for something bolder in your new digs? bright yellow legs?
I did the same thing a few weeks ago…I took our not-very-functional oval table out and substituted a nice rectangular table I found on craigslist. It is sooooo much better–all three of my kids are finally sitting at the table, instead of the baby being relegated to the corner.
Looks so good. I adore your kitchen- such beautiful light. 🙂
On the leg picture what catches my eye are your floors. They are GORGEOUS! 🙂 Real hardwoods and the perfect shade, in my opinion!!!
Thought I would share some links I have bookmarked on beautiful table makeovers.
http://davidandkaryn.blogspot.com/2010/08/farmhouse-table-redo.html
http://littlebitsofbliss.blogspot.com/2010/03/farmhouse-table.html
Just throwing those out there!
Hollie
I am just loving your keeping it real style lately Katie! I am a CPA in the middle of tax-season, so I feel like a total hot mess too, and am totally relating to your everything everywhere kind of style. =) And I just love you~
OOh! I love it! And I love that you’re toying with the idea of the table Sarah Richardson used (love.her.omg).
Can’t wait to see more as the space evolves!
Everyone who answers correctly earns the points. You may redeem them at any time…although I would suggest accruing more 🙂
xo – kb
Awesome. I seriously need those for Will.
xo – kb
I actually had to do the opposite with my dining table, we had a rectangle table but it was too big for the tiny space we had so we switched it out for a circle hand me down from my mom.
We’ve also been rearranging a lot of other rooms in our house but I have yet to take pictures. I will probably post them next week.
I love the new house! I think the table looks great too! I actually think the chairs that are around the table now look good, I would love to know where they are from?
I hope you are starting to feel a little more settled in!
Hi Corrie,
they were a discount find at Target 🙂 Hello Clearance!
xo – kb
crazy – i paired my chairs from Target (just like yours!) with an old family table (just like yours!): http://meganmatronewhite.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/glimpses-of-the-loft/
I have that exact square table (my mom bought it about 18 years ago) and I am interested in what you’ll do to spruce it up! I really need a new table or change the one I have, but there are so many options!
My wife and I have that same table. Here’s how we refinished it. http://tinyurl.com/4t4zzxj Hope your project goes well.
Oooh…thanks.
xo – kb