DIY Cozy Kitchen Nook Table

I got this table for Christmas when I was 17. My grandparents fixed it up and gave it to me for my first university place. It was a great table for my roommates and I, and it got a lot of use. Of course back then it looked like this:

(Sorry for the mess. Apparently, this is the only picture I have of the table all set up.) 

Over the years, this table moved with me to various apartments or was stored in my parents basement when my living quarters where too tight to accommodate it. Eventually it ended up in the basement at our current house. In the kitchen we were using this table:

I really like this table and the big sturdy chairs, but this is a dining room table and not a kitchen nook table. It took up much too much space, was an awkward shape, and too dark a colour for the space. This table is now in the basement, waiting to be refinished and will be relocated to our dining room in the future (when we stop using our dining room as a playroom).

For a couple years now, I have been dreaming of refinishing the round table and chairs but found it a daunting and expensive idea. But after reading this blog post by Centsational Girl, I decided I was going to bite the bullet and go for it!

The first thing I did was take apart the table (the top was attached to the base with screws) and removed the chair cushions and seats. We cut the foam cushion in half and then stapled the fabric (grey chevron!) and plastic over the foam to the seat. (You could also use vinyl instead of layering fabric and plastic.) The seats were later reattached to the finished chairs using L brackets and very short screws. 

The table and chairs were sanded with an orbital sander and medium grit sand paper after the cracks and holes were filled with wood filler. After sanding, the surfaces were wiped clean.

The table and chairs were then primed. (Check out Centsational Girl's blog for tips and product suggestions. She's awesome!) This is where I made my first mistake. I did two coats of primer on the table as it will be a high use area but I figured the chairs would be okay with only one coat. It made them brutally difficult to paint. In retrospect, I would do two coats of primer on the chairs! 

After priming, everything was sanded with a medium grit sanding block and wiped smooth. Then came the scary but fun part, painting!! I used the same white on the chairs as I had used on my kitchen cabinets a couple years ago. The table, I painted a dark grey. I picked the colour to match the grey chevron seats.) The worst part here was the waiting. I followed Centsational Girl's rules for curing the paint. It was hard to wait.

Once the paint was cured, I gave everything several (3-4) coats of water based Varathane in clear, semi-gloss to give it a nice shine and protect it from the wear and tear it is sure to encounter in my kitchen.  

After that it was another horrid week of waiting. Then we were finally able to bring it upstairs and set it up in my kitchen! 

I love how light, bright and clean it looks now and how much space we have to move around. I really love how it turned out! But what do you think? Worth all the blood, sweat and tears? Or am I just crazy?