Vintage Dining Set Makeover - Progress Pictures

We have made quite a bit of progress on the dining set we found last weekend.  My husband has been sanding the table down to bare wood because I want to stain it. I usually do painted furniture because I absolutely love painted furniture... But, for this project I decided to do something a little different and go with a stain on the table and an antique white painted finish on the chairs. Although I've done many  painted pieces over the years, stain is a little foreign to me. I'm all for trying something new... And I figure, if I don't like it, it will be easy to paint over (hehe, just don't tell my hubby I said that...). 

First, a leaf was sanded to see how well it would come out.  As you can see, sanding worked well! Note: For safety, when sanding always wear a mask. Paper masks are cheap and can be found at any hardware store.

My husband is almost done with the sanding of the table. Next he will start on the chairs. Since we will be doing a paint finish on the chairs, they won't require as detailed of a sanding. It's amazing that the table below is the same table. Originally is war a honey color with many chips and scratches. After a complete sanding, it's like new!

Below are the fabrics I purchased yesterday at the Joann's sale... I love the color aqua and have used it elsewhere in our home, so I decided to use it in the dining room mixed with a mocha color. The left two fabrics will be used on the dining chairs. The striped fabric is for drapery panels.

I can't wait to see the entire dining room come together. Our goal is to have it finished in time for Thanksgiving.  I will post more progress pictures as we get more done...