Success... We Found Our Dining Table

After looking at Craigslist, thrift stores, garage sales and a flea market, both Friday and Saturday for a used inexpensive dining set for our formal area, Sunday afternoon we found it!

We woke up Sunday morning and went to church and then went out to lunch. Afterwards we came home and my hubby turned on Football... which I admit I am actually into this year because we are playing Fantasy Football with some family and friends. While we were watching the game, I was on my laptop and decided to search Craigslist again. This is the third day in a row I had searched our county and I didn't expect to find anything new. I was only searching our county because we pretty much would have to rent a truck to get anything home, as we only own cars. After about 10 minutes of searching the Furniture for Sale by Owner section I came across a French Country style table that had three extention leaves, 7 chairs (odd number, but I only needed 6) and it even came with the custom pads to protect it. I originally had wanted to find something for $100, but this table was listed for $200. It didn't take long for my hubby and I to decide we needed to go look at it. We called the seller and the table was still available. They lived about 20 miles away. We headed out immediately, hit the ATM on the way for some cash, all the while hoping it looked as good in person as the pictures.

We knew that if we were to purchase the set, we would have to rent a truck to get it home. Truck rental $19.95, plus mileage at $1 per mile (which is what our local rental yard charges) after driving to and from the sellers house with a rental truck would be a 40 mile round trip, plus another 7 or so miles getting the truck returned to the rental yard... and then we'd have to buy gas for the truck to replace the gas we used and of course sales tax on the truck.. about $80 later we could pick up the table and chairs and get it home. Ouch... maybe we need a truck of our own.

I knew that $200 would be a bit over my original budget especially if we had to rent a truck too... but, we were hoping for the best and figured maybe the seller would negotiate.  When we arrived they opened their garage and the chairs were sitting in the bed of a pick up truck... hmmm, hopefully ready to deliver it for us (hehe)... The table and chairs definitely need an overhaul... In fact a full blown rehab to get it to look the way I want... But a renovation project is what we were looking for. The table and the three leaves are made from solid wood, which is a rare find these days. The set is incredibly well made. The chairs are very comfortable, have great padding on them and they even have springs in the seats (which we discovered after we got home). When have you ever seen springs in dining chairs? Originally I thought I'd be trying to negotiate on the price, but this set, being solid wood, was definitely worth the $200 they were asking. I said to the seller, if you are willing to deliver it, we will pay full price. They were thrilled and so were we! 

I can't believe we set out to find a dining set for our formal area on Friday, and by Sunday we had found it and had it at home... All for $200. A little over our original budget, but completely worth it!  Now we are starting our plans for a complete DIY overhaul. My husband will be sanding the table down to bare wood. The chairs will all get a light sanding (heavier where there are chips and knicks), then they will get primed and painted. I will re-upholster them, after I find the perfect fabric. Jim and I are both excited for this project. We have been in our home for 15 months now and our current formal dining room table is a 6 foot folding plastic banquet table, with some outdoor plastic chairs... Hmmm.... once we are done, this set will be an amazing upgrade!

Pictures of our project in process will follow soon...