When I think back on my life, some of my favorite memories happened around the table. Most of those memories are the small moments of telling stories, laughing until tears streaked my cheeks or just being with my people. You know, when I started looking for photos of us at the table, I realized there weren’t many. It’s a place where we live totally in the moment and for that, I’m grateful.
I remember sitting on a phone book on my fifth birthday, my pigtails still dripping from the baby pool out back. We were feasting on grilled burgers, buttery corn and cold Coca-Cola’s. My grandpa was far from being touched by the cancer; he was there, laughing. Happy.
I remember sitting at the table to write my very first story: Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer: The True Story. I was nine.
I remember being about 12 and watching the women in my family gather around the table, their hands in deep silver bowls, squeezing the water out of shredded cabbage to put up sauerkraut. I remember the sound of their laughter, of cans of pop being opened and the whistle of the pressure cooker. I remember the heat in the kitchen and how my great-aunt Betty nearly embarrassed me to death when she asked if I were on my period because generations of Southern women believed that could ruin cabbage.
I remember breaking Pap’s homegrown green beans, doing homework with my mom, eating pinto beans over corn bread. And I remember summer night games of Go Fish then Old Maid then War with my brother, Josh.
I remember sitting at the table with my Grandma Kay and Mom the week after my grandpa died, silently watching the clock creep towards 8PM and reliving every moment of the night we lost him. We did that the rest of that summer, watching the clock and waiting like it was going to happen again.
I was sitting at the dining room table when I wrote my first Kentucky A to Z story, the one about Amandaville that taught me to trust my journey. And I was sitting at the table when I called Travis to tell him the test was positive, that we were finally pregnant.
We sat there to buy our first house then sell it. We sat there to make the plans to make this house a home. And last week, I sat there to talk to my mom, who is again facing a tough journey, to seriously discuss quality versus quantity of life.
Our table…it’s the most important place in our home.
There are so many big, scary things happening in my life right now, things I can’t really talk about yet, but I wanted to share with you this table. I believe, friends, that a table is where our stories are told. I took some time Friday night to love on our shabby table. When I am worried or stressed out, I find working with my hands to be the most soothing thing I can do. I had been covering the table with a tablecloth lately because the stencil work I did wasn’t holding up too well. I loved the look of the stencil but if you ever go to stencil a tabletop, I’d recommend using chalk paint rather than latex paint. I wasn’t loving the texture of the latex paint. It felt messy to me.
Once everyone was in bed, I spent some time carefully stripping the table to bring it back to a natural, grounded place. I brushed CitriStrip over the tabletop and let it sit for half an hour before scraping off the layers of polycrylic, latex paint and stain. This also removed the layers of marker doodles and impossible food stains from my family. I had a clean slate!
I worked Valspar’s Limewash Glaze into the tabletop to create that pretty, beachy look I love. Oh, friends. I’m just a frustrated, land-locked beach bum. My dream is to someday spend my summers loving old, beach bungalows back to someplace that will shelter weary folks who need the sand and salt to exfoliate their souls again.
To really anchor the table, I painted the legs in Annie Sloan Graphite which may be my favorite color from the Annie Sloan line. It’s so rich. You’ll notice that I’ve been decorating with darker grays and black lately. After years of white-washing everything, I’m loving contrast and how comforting dark colors can be. I’m really loving the warmth of black, white and wood tones together. This table feels clean to me. I love the simplicity.
I used Eli’s nap the next day to wax everything with clear wax then stood back with a grin on my face. I’ll be adding an indoor/outdoor rug from Dash and Albert under the table. I love their indoor/outdoor rugs in a house with kids because you can literally take the rug outside and hose it down.
This is a table where memories are made.
17 Responses
oh amanda, i love it! it’s gorgeous!
I just love your posts & always, the way you tell them. I have also spent many days around an old kitchen table eating pinto beans & cornbread. Brings back so many memories. You do very fine things.
Thank you, Pat. Your kind words were exactly what my heart needed today.
It looks beautiful! You write in such a way that reading about sanding down tables is an absolute pleasure, and I want to get up and go sand one down and redo it right now. I also love that little kiddie table in the background. It’s always nice to see home decor/design bloggers creating beautiful homes and spaces, but keeping family at the forefront while doing so.
Thank you so much, Whitney. I’m humbled :)
I’m new here, first time reader. I found your article while looking for a way to bleach an ebony stain off my son’s tabletop. He bought 8 beautiful chairs from a friend and I had this bigger than I needed table that was in that early 90s “blonde” finish. I flipped the table upside-down to stain the legs and never dreamed the stain would drip through to the top of the table. Tried sanding but no luck. He wanted the tabletop to be stained a rich medium walnut to match the chair seats. Do you think the lime product would bleach that stain? His wife and their 4 children have made many memories around that table with and without the tablecloth :) but, 10 years later, I would like to finish this project for them! Loved the introduction to your family history and pray that blessings will continue to follow y’all.
I read that wax isn’t a good choice for durability in homes with little kids. Not very protective. I see you have had this finish awhile now. What is the long term review now? Would you recommend a finish other than wax?
I have used both wax and polycrylic on chalk painted finishes. I like the look of wax on chalk paint better but you’re right, there is maintenance involved when you have a lot of traffic (cough…little, busy hands.) I used polycrylic on the cabinets after I repainted them. I’m going to be totally honest here: I used the polycrylic over wax this time because I needed to seal the cabinets and I was already using polycrylic somewhere else in the house and had a open can and wet brush. Sometimes I have to do things based on saving time with the kids being little, lol.
Just came across this post as I have a quite dark brown red looking old fashioned table for our patio and I want the beach look too! I really like what you have done with yours. Since Im based in Portugal I will have to look for a similar product. Also thinking of painting the leg in white :) Thanks a lot for your tips, amazing work!
Where did you get your chandelier?
Yep. Black white and wood –pretty much describes my dining room. My favorite!
Love this table makeover. :)
Amanda, Your instructions are a joy to read because you write so well. Thanks for sharing.
Amanda, I think graphite is my favourite colour too! I love the contrast of the graphic & the whitewash. Ps. It is amazing to think of a table and the conversations it has been a part of and the growth of a family x
Blessings to you
I am in the middle of a very similar project. A couple questions for you: how many layers of lime wash did you use? How did you apply it? How did you keep the glaze fr building up of the edge detail? Thanks!!
I just found this and absolutely love it! I headed to the store immediately to buy everything and can’t wait to do this to my table! Can you tell me what you did to the top after you lime washed it? Did you wax it or does it need a coat of poly to protect it?
So great and love this look! Quick question how did you work in the limewash? With a brush or a rag?
I love the top of your table it turned out stunning. Bravo from another coastal lover!