I found this absolutely gorgeous dining table at a thrift store a while back. It has lovely, curved legs and a table leaf that – shockingly – fits like a glove. This is unusual as the leaves of tables that I find are typically either missing completely or don’t fit properly due to damage. I fell in love!
I purchased it and sadly, its downfall began.
For some odd reason, the guy at the store decided to unscrew the legs to move the table out of the store and into my van. To understand what I mean, here is a picture of the table upside down.
I had left to get my van and when I came back, he was in the process of taking it apart. I quickly told him that wasn’t a good idea (the legs were on securely and it fit easily into my van) and so he quickly started screwing them back in. Except he used the wrong screw (way too long) and proceeded to screw a hole right through the base into the top of the table. I was pretty ticked but these guys work really hard and likely for not much pay so I just shrugged it off and, with a smile, told him it was no big deal. I knew I could fix it at home although it did mean a lot of extra work to fill the hole.
Now I had a table with a damaged top and legs that were no longer attached. I put it (as seen) upside down in my garage until I could reattach the legs. Now, the demise of the table continues.
I asked my husband to move the minivan seats back into the van and as he moved them, an old coffee table I was storing fell directly onto the upside down legs. Now, I have this:
It’s a foot that broke off and literally flew across the garage.
My beautiful, perfect table now looks like this.
I am going to put that foot back on, glue it and fix it up. I will reattach those legs, fill in the hole and this table will be beautiful. I feel I owe it to the poor thing! What a lot of work this created!
Join the Fun! I Always Love More Subscribers!
Oh no, poor baby. Now it’s Suzanne to the rescue. I can’t wait to see how you save this beauty. Cheers, Ardith
Thanks, Ardith!
Noooooo. I”m feeling your pain. I am SO sorry! *SIGH*
It is probably a good thing you have it,if this happened to anyone else they may have tossed it.You will make it beautiful again.
I admire your attitude. OMG!!!
Oh noooo!!!! Not a good start! I hope everything from this point goes really well! I also just bought a beautiful table,much like yours, but with a single pedestal. I tested the leaf while I was in the op shop (thrift store), noticed it had those hidden barrell hinges, and they it all functioned beautifully! Bingo! Happy Liz! I asked them to deliver it, which they did a few days later (kerching for the delivery). But by the time it was home, someone had obviously broken the hinges! Grrr. So then the hunt was on to repair the hinges, which meant another $150 AUS. So now, my bargain table, at $95, already owes me an additional $45 for delivery + $150! Guess I’ll just have to call it a labour of love!
Bad luck on your table! I literally left for 5 minutes and the damage was done to mine. So sorry about your piece! I completely understand the bottomline and how all the small things can blow it. I can’t believe they deliver though – nice! Well, If they did it carefully lol!
Men are sometimes careless even when they have good intentions.
Oh, so very true!
it will be a beauty when you “Suzanne-isze”it!
I had to laugh when I read your post…I purchased a beautiful antique dresser advertised with ball and claw feet. When I arrived it had 1 and 1/2 ball and claw feet – not 2 good ones. I renegotiated and said I would make a mold and rebuild the broken foot. Two months later and three attempts I finally have a new foot and you cannot tell the difference. Patience and resolve will result in success – good luck to you.
I’m so impressed that you could make the mold! Well done! At least I do still have the foot albeit damaged. So disappointing when a piece gets damaged (especially by your own husband lol!) Good luck with your dresser. It sounds lovely.
oh i love the shape of those pedestals! you can fix it. 🙂 it will be so pretty!
Thanks, Cassie! Such a shame to actually find a piece in good shape (as you know, so hard! ) just to ruin it yourself!
Hi Suzanne, I’m sure you already know this, but from my experience of fixing furniture that someone else would throw away and in case it’s new owner wants to scoot-ch it across the floor without lifting: before gluing remove the original dowel, drill the hole just a bit deeper and replace with a longer dowel. Now the table is “scoot-ch-able.” Happy refinishing, Denice.
i am so sorry…that i am lmho…i thought this kind of stuff only happened to me xx
Oh no Suzanne, is this table jinxed or what! You’ll having looking fabulous and as good as new in no time. Looking forward to seeing it!
Oh my goodness, that poor table sure has been through a lot! But I am totally confident that you will make it look better than ever! … Thanks so much for letting me know that you backed up your computer in time. Makes me feel like my experience helped someone!
Ouch!! And all you wanted to do was rescue the poor table and bring it back to life! Well, if it was going to happen to someone, I’m glad it was you because someone else would be posting under the FREE section of Craigslist. :O)
Oh, what a shame since it was in such good condition and the legs seemed strong and needed no repair. And I love the style of the legs on the table. They were the first element to catch my eye. As someone else said, I’m glad you have it because I know you will make it whole again.
Hi Connie – I actually did fix it! Here is the link: https://thepainteddrawer.com/2015/09/a-classic-dining-room-table-before-and-after.html
It’s in my kitchen now lol! Cheers!
The resulting table is absolutely beautiful. It really shows the graceful lines of the pedestal lines.
Thanks so much, Connie!