Darren's New Found Hobby

Darren and I made a very unexpected trip to Rexburg this summer. We were just planning on going from Portland to San Diego and then staying in San Diego until school started. Things changed when we got a call from the apartment complex that we have been on the waiting list for. They said we could move in but we had to move in now or we would  be put back on the waiting list. We didn't want to risk being put on the waiting list again and so we made a trip to Rexburg to move out of our old apartment and into our new apartment. Darren's dad was really nice and came to help us move. We drove to Rexburg one day, moved out the next, then drove home the day after. It was a very quick trip and a ton of work, but I am glad we were able to get all moved, and I like our new apartment much better! Because we were driving back to Rexburg we thought it would be a good idea to look for furniture on craigslist. Rexburg doesn't have a very good selection of furniture around and I knew I wanted a sofa table so we bought one in Portland. We found this one for 20 bucks and it was the perfect size but it was ugly. We decided to refinish it and make it more our style. The furniture piece is solid oak and weighs a ton! It is nice to actually own a quality piece of furniture. Here is the before picture:

This is Darren and I right before we spent all night sanding. It literally took all night to get the old finish off. The table was very stubborn! After we got the table all sanded down, we gave it many, many coats of stain. Darren loved every minute of it! I loved it too, but I think I am just not as patient as Darren is. I think Darren has found a new hobby. He is now always looking around for things he can refinish.

Here is the after picture. Doing this project was so rewarding! We love this table and it is by far the most beautiful piece of furniture in our home! It took a lot of work but we had a lot of fun doing it, and hopefully we will hold onto this lovely piece for a long time!