Usually, I have a long list of hopes and dreams when it comes to salvage ideas. Many remain as such forever, but its not too often that i find some unsuspecting project has cleverly escaped my attention. Such was the case with the dining table, which i bought a few weeks before we moved into our new flat. I found it in a charity shop for £100, but not having the dimensions of the new place, i took a chance that it would fit. It didn’t. The vision was for a bay window dining area, but it turns out our bay was not as big as i thought. Along came moving day and the table was placed, ridiculously, in the window, scooping up all the floor space as far up the living room as the fire place. Right before the waterworks/swearing/despair came on, Malkie came up with the idea of having it at the other end of the room, near the door for easy access when depositing delectable dishes. Turns out our living room is the oddest shape, with the door right next to the fireplace, both stuck bang in the middle of the room. This carves the space up into two smaller areas, which makes it tricky for those, namely me, with a penchant for oversized and numerous furnitures.

Anyway, the table had the usual expected scuffs and stains, but all adding to the ‘character’, i suppose. A sense of its history; a chance to wonder and muse who those cup rings once belonged to, what moments of intimacy, drudgery or hospitality led to their addition onto the wooden landscape….

Scratch that, literally. Time to sand those ugly buggers off, and what better opportunity than a broken down car and an unexpected day off work, with a sunny february day to boot. Thus, upon a whim i got set up outside, and within 45 minutes any hint of nostalgia was swiftly replaced by a wonderful, silky smooth table top.

I lost heart in the task though before the legs had a chance to shine. I have deliberated painting them in the proverbial ‘shabby chic’ style, but having recently watched this BBC interior design series, I’m going right off the look altogether. Though the series has some great ideas and certainly talented amateur designers, it highlights how easy it is to overdo, and thus kill, the said style.

I sealed the surface with 3 coats of clear wax, giving it a good buff afterwards to try and make it less porous. No doubt it will see many ‘additions’ over time, but no matter. Another quick sanding down can easily remedy that. Ah, i do love a bit of sanding, surely the quickest way to usher a piece of furniture into a new lease of life.