DIY Farmhouse Table using Chalk Paint and Stain
In this tutorial, I will be showing you how to stain a kitchen table and chairs even if you have never done it before. It was easier than I thought it would be! Using stain and chalk paint I was able to paint a beautiful Farmhouse kitchen table. If I can do it, you can too! Read on to find out how you can paint and stain a table of your own!
We recently had my brother move out so were able to finally remodel the basement! I was so excited because it was in desperate need of a makeover, along with the furniture. Now with his stuff out of the way, we finally can! Down there has always been so dark. The walls in the living room were painted dark green on 2 walls, and white and green sponged on the other wall, yuck! The furniture was dark, brown couches, brown coffee table, end tables, and entertainment centers. Not to mention the way out-dated brown brick fireplace that covers one whole wall. The bathroom had brown wood paneling, who ever thought that was a good look? So, needless to say, I was excited to get going. My go-to for remodeling ideas is Pinterest, and it seemed to be filled with beautiful white furniture, light colored walls, and bright pops of accent colors. With all the darkness the basement was clouded with, I was determined to put in the opposite colors. I just had to pick a theme.
I learned that the color schemed furniture I loved was called Farmhouse style, but instead of distressing the pieces I painted, I wanted to give it more of a modern look sans the distressing. Although I do think that is a beautiful look. So I chose white and gray with pops of gold, teal, and pink accent colors.
Now, I have never painted any furniture in my life, and I was terrified I would mess it up. I probably researched different paint tutorials way more than I needed to, but I was not confident in this new endeavor. After extensive research, I decided to go with chalk paint, because of the little prep you need to do compared to latex paint. No sanding, unless needed for scratches, no priming, and very short dry times. My first project was this entertainment center I got from my local classifieds site, it took a long time because it was so big, but it I over worried myself. It is really easier than I thought. 
The walls have since been painted white with a gray accent wall to match a beautiful gray and white rug that was given by my mother-in-law brand new! So for the kitchen table I decided a gray stained table top with white legs with matching chairs with just the seat stained would be perfect for the Farmhouse theme I’m trying to create. I was also afraid of staining at first but it is actually easier than painting! If you have an old table you can’t stand looking at anymore or any piece of furniture that seems outdated, giving it a fresh coat of paint can liven the piece! Read on to see how you can do it too even if you have no experience!
How to stain a kitchen table and chairs
What you will need:
-Coarse, medium, and fine grit sandpaper (I just used 80-grit, 100-grit, and 220-grit)
-Electric Sander (I would say this is optional, but sanding by hand will really hurt your arms by the time your done!)
-Lint-free Rag
-Tacky Cloth
-Cleaning materials for furniture (I used Goo-gone and dish soap)
-Stain in your choice of color (I used this Rust-Oleum Valathane in Weathered Gray)
-Chalk Paint (I used this Rust-Oleum Chalk Paint in Linen White
-Sponge Brushes
-Paint Brush (I used this 2-in-1 Round Chalk Paint and Wax Brush
-Protective Finish (I used this Minwax Polycrylic in Clear Gloss
*Note: I usually use this Minwax Finishing Wax
Step 1:
Clean your table and chairs to get any grime from previous use off of it. I used Goo Gone, but you can also just use a rag with dish soap and warm water.
Step 2:
Remove the legs (if you can) from the table and if there’s any imperfections or scratches in the wood, sand it and use your tacky cloth or a wet rag to get all the sand dust off. Paint them and the base of the table. Do the same with the legs of the chairs.I turned my table upside down to do the base, I used 3 coats total. I sanded with fine grit 220 sandpaper for a smoother finish, but some like the look of chalk paint without sanding, others sand to distress. It’s really your preference!
*Note- I didn’t yet paint the round part right below the tabletop because I figured if I accidentally got stain on it, I could easily paint over, but if I got paint on the tabletop, I’d have to re-sand again before applying the stain.
Step 3:
Sand the table top and the seat of your chairs with either coarse or medium grit sandpaper. I used my rotary sander for this part with 100-grit sandpaper. Make sure you really sand well and try for an even finish for the stain to absorb. It is hard on a bigger surface like a tabletop, I actually had to “spot sand” a couple areas that the stain wasn’t absorbing on. I used 80-grit for the areas I had to sand by hand, such as between the spindles of the chair.
*Tip- To sand hard to reach areas like between the spindles of a chair, fold a small piece of sandpaper two times and use the folded edge to sand like shown below.
Step 4:
Phew! That was a lot of sanding! Now it is finally time to stain. Make sure you go over the tabletop and seat of your chair with a tacky cloth or wet rag to get all the dust off. I used a sponge brush for the stain, you could use a paint brush or a lint-free rag or cloth. Do very thin coats of stain, you can always apply more coats of stain but you can’t apply less if it’s too dark unless you want to do all that sanding again. Don’t forget the lip of your tabletop and seat of your chair like I did the first time lol.
*Note- I didn’t tape around the spindles because chalk paint goes over everything, even stain yay! If you are using a different kind of paint I recommend taping them.
Step 5:
Follow the directions on the can on when to go over the stain with a lint-free cloth (I just cut up a plain white tee-shirt). Mine said 2-3 minutes. This is to wipe off any areas where the stain may have pooled up on your surface. Wait about an hour to apply another coat till you get the depth you want. I did 4 coats for the tabletop and 3 coats for the seat of my chairs.
Step 6:
After you have the desired color of stain and it is dry, it’s time to paint the last parts; the part under your tabletop (if applicable) and the back of your chairs. To tape, I had to make several small strips under the lip of the tabletop. I had to get a little creative for taping around the spindles of the chair. Since painters tape has straight edges and I needed to tape around a round shape, I used scissors. I took little strips of tape and cut a curved shape around the corner of my tape strips as shown below. This made it much easier to place around the spindles, and only took maybe 2 seconds to cut each piece which was worth avoiding the frustration of trying to tape a straight edge to a round shape. I made a short video below for the taping part. I used my 2-in-1 Round Chalk Paint and Wax Brush
Step 7:
After taping and painting the desired amount of coats, I did some fine sanding with 220-grit sandpaper. Wipe away the dust and seal it with the sealer you chose. I chose Minwax Polycrylic in Clear Gloss
Step 8:
The can of protective finish said to find sand between coats, however, fine sanding over the stain did not look very good, so I skipped sanding between coats. Follow the directions on your can for dry times and apply the desired amount of coats. I applied 3.
Done!
Now you have a beautiful Farmhouse table that you can show off to the world!
Kari
12 Aug 2018I’m right in the middle of a staining project. Good timing! I’ve only worked with chalk paint once. I love that look and should totally use it more! Thanks for the tips!
admin
12 Aug 2018My favorite part about chalk paint is the little prep. No sanding unless you need to get scratches and imperfections out, no priming, and goes over even black painted furniture with just a couple coats!
Gina
12 Aug 2018Oh my!!! You make it look so easy. Every time I try to do things like this, it never works out the way I want it to and I end up with a bigger mess than when I started. I may have to try again.
admin
12 Aug 2018Hi Gina,
Yes! Try it again! Trust me, writing about it was a lot easier than doing it! I had to re-sand a couple spots on the table where the stain didn’t absorb and sanding the spindles of the chair was exhausting because of all the little areas I had to do by hand. But I love bringing new life to old furniture. I know you could do something like this too!
Anitra
12 Aug 2018Anything DIY farmhouse I love! I’ve chalk painted quite a few items before, but have yet to redo a table. This came out amazing! Very nice!
admin
12 Aug 2018Thanks! I have painted many furniture items before this but never used stain so I was nervous! I learned that you really have to sand the tabletop like crazy. I sanded it for hours and still had a couple small spots I had to re-sand to get the stain to absorb. But I love how it turned out. I’ve lived with brown furniture my whole life and so bored of it I just want everything different than brown!
Melanie
12 Aug 2018With a family of artists, my tables are all in need of some serious attention. Staining them looks like the perfect solution to saving them!
Autumn
12 Aug 2018Wow! Great job! I have a table I totally want to stain so I will be saving this for the future. Thanks!
Christie
12 Aug 2018Thanks for the tips on this! We just re-finished a kitchen table but have not poly-coated it yet (it rained the day we were going to do it!). You said that you didn’t sand between coats of the clear finish, but the can says that we should. Do you know why you’re supposed to sand between coats and do you think it would work better if we didn’t?
admin
12 Aug 2018Hi Christie,
I did sanding between coats over the white chalk paint but not even between every coat, only if it didn’t seem smooth or if I accidentally painted it on too thick. When I fine sanded over the stain, it started to rub off the stain underneath so I didn’t try that again! With polyurethane sanding is to ensure proper adhesion once it is cured but with polycrylic that is not the case. You can apply without sanding between. By the 3rd chair I did, I didn’t stand between the coats of clear finish at all.