Melissa’s Dining Room Set

This dining room set has been passed down to three generations and is full of history including very old newspaper clippings. The set is extremely old and was in very bad condition as it had been stored for many years. I realized during the cleaning process there were a large number of cracks and grandma’s leaky plant lived on the top of the buffet for many years and deteriorated the top layer of wood. Fixing the buffet top was an introduction to using bondo to fill the the deep plant damage. The old oak would also require a complete sealing with shellac after the cleaning, repairs and sanding. Oak is notorious for bleeding an ugly yellow stain when painted a light color and shellac will stop that from occurring. The pieces have three coats of Dixie Belle Cotton paint and two coats of Annie Sloan clear wax. The top of the table we were able to salvage and a light stain and several layers of sealer made it pristine again.

Today this gorgeous set is proudly displayed and loving used in granddaughter Melissa’s new home. Restoring pieces that are sentimental just means the world to me. I like knowing that they will be used for many more generations and appreciate the people who care enough to invest in making them usable again.