Sooner or later, a moment comes when a wooden table loses its former appeal. Sending it to gather dust in the attic or throwing it away is not the right way out. The best way out of this situation is to restore the old table.

Furniture restoration
Furniture restoration is a fascinating process that allows you to save significantly on purchasing new furniture.

This is especially true when the product is made of expensive wood. In such circumstances, it will be much more profitable to restore the table than to buy a new expensive table or replace an antique table with a lower quality product. In addition, antique models are valued more and more over time, and it is quite likely that in a few years the repaired table will greatly increase in price.

Round folding wooden table
Round folding wooden table before and after DIY restoration

For many, an ancient table in the house is not just an interior item, but also a memory of ancestors, a family heirloom and a symbol of long-term stability. By restoring a wooden table, you can give it a second life and preserve it as part of your family history.

A chic table with carved legs
Gorgeous table with carved legs and a restored tabletop

The best option to do this is to restore a wooden table with your own hands. Repairing a table will give you a lot of positive impressions and will allow you to get a unique thing that no one else will have.

Decoupage in Shabby Chic
Decoupage will not only allow you to quickly and inexpensively transform your table, but also to style it, for example, in Shabby Chic.

Strong wooden things serve for a long time, but sometimes they lose their presentable appearance. This problem can be easily eliminated by repairing the table. Restoring the table with your own hands will help save the family budget, since workshops ask a high price for such work.

Beautiful tables after restoration
Beautiful tables get a new life after restoration

Thus, summing up all of the above, we can highlight the following advantages of restoring a wooden table with your own hands:

  • budget savings;
  • second life of an old table;
  • preserving a family heirloom;
  • creation of unique furniture;
  • low table repair costs;
  • high quality and durable product.

The process of restoring an old table is painstaking, but it is within the power of any person with even minor skills in working with wood and modest knowledge in the field of furniture design. With the help of improvised means and small expenses on materials, you can give an outdated table a fresh and presentable look.

Table decor with mosaic
Table decor with mosaics from broken plates – an unusual budget solution for restoration

The following tools are used to restore wooden tables:

  • grinding machine;
  • sandpaper;
  • set of skins;
  • primer roller;
  • set of brushes.
Materials and tools
Materials and tools for restoration

To restore the table, you will need the following materials:

  • putty;
  • special products for wood;
  • varnish;
  • dye;
  • glue;
  • if necessary, a wooden canvas.
Wooden table after painting
Wooden table looks completely different after painting

How to repair a table

There are several ways to repair a wooden table. The most popular method is based on painting the surface of the table with paint and then applying varnish.

Painting a table with a pattern
To give the table a more impressive look, you can paint only individual parts of it, rather than the entire table.

The second most common method is to cover furniture with self-adhesive film. This method is the cheapest, but at the same time it allows you to hide existing defects of furniture and transform the appearance of the product for the better.

The simplest decoration option
The simplest and most beautiful option for decorating an old table that doesn’t require messing around with paints is gluing on film

An original method in furniture restoration is laying tiles on the surface of the table. This method will allow the product to retain its beautiful appearance for a long time, since it will not be afraid of moisture and high temperatures.

Table decoration with tiles
Table decoration with ceramic tiles in the form of individual fragments

The work on restoring the table should begin with a thorough inspection of the product for defects. The best option would be to disassemble the furniture into parts, clean it from dirt, and then reassemble it.

We carefully inspect all fasteners
We carefully inspect all fastenings in the structure and defects of the tabletop and repair the parts

If any faults are found, they should be fixed. If it is impossible to repair one of the parts, it should be replaced with a new one, either self-made or custom-made.

We remove the old coating
We remove the old coating with a grinding machine or manually

Next, you need to remove the old varnish. To do this, the product is sanded. This can be done using a sanding machine, or if you don't have one, sandpaper of varying degrees of hardness.

We seal cracks and chips
After sanding, thoroughly clean the table from dust and fill in cracks and chips.
Cover with stain
If the tabletop does not have serious damage, then you can leave the natural beauty of the wood undisturbed and cover it with stain and then varnish.

It is very important to polish the wood along the grain, otherwise difficult-to-remove defects may occur. At the end of the treatment, it is necessary to sand the surface and then remove all dust from the furniture. After that, it is necessary to degrease the surface of the table using special solvents, alcohol or acetone. If any parts of the product have chips, cracks or scratches, they must be filled and the fracture sites must be connected using glue.

The table can be primed in 1-2 layers
The table can be primed in 1-2 layers using a small sponge roller, and each layer must dry completely.
Sanding the tabletop with sandpaper
Once the primer has dried, sand the countertop again with sandpaper or a medium-grit sanding sponge.

Then you should again carry out the stage of grinding and degreasing the surface of the furniture. If the table is made of natural wood, it is advisable to protect it from pests and diseases. To do this, impregnate the product with an appropriate agent.

We treat it with a special impregnation
If the table is made of natural wood, it is better to treat it with a special impregnation that will protect it from pests and diseases.

Varnishing

Table restoration using sanding
Restoration of a polished dining table can be done by sanding the surface and applying a new layer of decorative varnish.

The next step is to varnish the wooden parts. If you need to mask some defects or just want to change the color of the old table, you can use paint before applying varnish. You can also change the shade of the furniture by using colored varnish instead of transparent. After all the parts have dried well, you need to assemble the product.

The paint should be applied in 2 layers,
The paint should be applied in 2 thin layers, and then the surface of the table should be protected with varnish.

Finishing touch

Old table decor
Decorating an old table using decoupage technique

The final stage of restoration of a wooden table is decoration. You can take up the brush again and, using various stencils or masking tape, apply an applique to the surface of the table.

Painting the table through tulle
Painting the table through the tulle should be done over the base layer, with a pigment of a contrasting color.

For those who can draw well, an image of their own masterpiece on furniture that will remain for many years is suitable.

Table with artistic painting
A table with artistic painting will perfectly complement an interior in an ethnic or rustic style.

The tabletop design can also be created using mosaic or gold leaf. The latter is used in work when the goal is to imitate one of the noble metals - gold, silver or bronze.

Create a picture from a mosaic
We create a picture from small fragments on the surface of the table
Table leaf
Gilding is a wonderful decoration for a table in a classic style.

Video: Kitchen Table Restoration

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