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| This was a cheap, but still very solid, Kmart table that I'd had for about 10 years. |
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I painted the legs and underside of the table first. I wasn't too careful with how I painted. I just slapped it on and I only put about 2 coats. I used an Eggshell base. The color was called "Bleached Sand" under the Grand Distinctions brand from Menards. It's a good paint and the "sloppy" job added almost a distressed look. I then screwed down some 2x8's and 1 2x10 in the center of the table. Any number, size, and/or combination of boards would work depending on the length and width of your table. I wanted to make the table a little bit bigger than it originally was. You'll also want some overhang of the boards to sort of cover the old tabletop.
I screwed the boards from underneath so the screws wouldn't be seen. I then took some hammers, and with the help of my girls, we "aged" the boards. We pounded all around the edges and on the boards to give them a worn look. We even had some pretty good hammer dents. I took a few nails and pounded them in as well. Once, all that fun was done, I stained the boards with a gel stain. I only did 1 heavy coat. The more coats you put on the darker it will be so it really depends on the look you're going for. Several days later (when I finally had time) I polyurethaned the table top. I put on 2 coats, though one could easily do 3 if they wanted. The only thing that I would have done differently would be to beat, stain, and apply the polyurethane on the boards before screwing them down, but all in all it's not that big of a deal. I got a little stain on the legs, but I just painted over those spots. The finished product turned out pretty well and looks like a beautiful, old farm table. It's not a smooth top because of the grooves between the boards, but it serves it's purpose well enough and looks good and unique.
