When I shared my cerused dining table makeover yesterday, I had several people comment and say that their own dining table needed a bit of an update as well. Since I know that probably not everyone wants a cerused dining table, I thought I’d bring you some other ideas (as well as helpful links) to get your creative juices flowing. No need to live with an outdated dining table when there are so many options for updating and making over your table!
Here are some of my favorite ideas…
Idea #1: Paint the apron and base a solid color, and re-stain the top in a rich stain color, like this dining table before and after from Blue 11 Interiors.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this makeover from Blue 11 Interiors
Idea #2: Paint the table top and the base in different but coordinating colors, like this before and after table makeover from Celebrating Everyday Life.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this table makeover from Celebrating Everyday Life
Idea #3: Add a stenciled design to the table top, like this before and after from Pretty Handy Girl.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this makeover at Pretty Handy Girl
Idea #4: Paint the base, stain the top, and then lightly whitewash the top for a beautifully aged look, like this table from Paint Me White.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this makeover from Paint Me White
Idea #5: Paint the table top to look like a zinc-covered table, like this one from That Mommy Blog.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this table makeover from That Mommy Blog
Idea #6: Actually cover the table top with zinc, stainless steel, copper, or any other sheet metal, like this zinc-covered table from Unexpected Elegance.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this makeover from Unexpected Elegance
Idea #7: Add some color to your room by painting the table one solid exciting color, like this table from Everyday Lovely.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this table makeover on Everyday Lovely
Idea #8: Strip and re-stain the table. You can completely change the stain color, and even give it a distressed/weathered look, like this table makeover from Simple Details Blog.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this table makeover from Simple Details Blog
Idea #9: Add some sparkle to the top with glass, nailhead trim, etc., like this table makeover from Dwellings By DeVore.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this table makeover from Dwellings by DeVore
Idea #10: Replace an outdated or damaged top with a concrete table top, like this table makeover from Kara Paslay Designs.
Before & After
Click here to see more of this table makeover from Kara Paslay Designs
And finally, the most classic, never-go-out-of-style option…
Idea #11: Paint it white, like this table makeover from 11 Magnolia Lane.
Before:
After:
Click here to see more of this makeover from 11 Magnolia Lane
Those are some of the best ways I’ve found to makeover an outdated dining table. What ideas do you have? If you’ve done a dining table makeover and have pics posted online, feel free to share a link in a comment below so we can be inspired by your creativity!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
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34 Comments
Mark Tisdale
April 15, 2014 at 10:20 amOh wow – all those afters are so different from the starting point – Sometimes it just takes a little creativity! Well, and some hard work. LOL
Beverly
April 15, 2014 at 10:34 amMy mother painted hers black on the bottom and covered the top with linoleum. Of, course, this was the late 50s.
Me? I’m a wood person, so I would strip and refinish, like #8. I fail to understand the whole distressing stuff technique–what’s wrong with a new-looking piece of furniture? (There’s a corollary in antiques: I can appreciate nice lines and great design, but I like it well-preserved. Just because it’s old doesn’t automatically make it pretty–especially if it looks like it got left in a barn or a cattle stampede.)
Having said that, isn’t nice there is so much variety out there in life? 🙂
angela
April 15, 2014 at 10:58 amwe just need a new table. it needs to be bigger and need more chairs. i keep looking on craigslist but have not found one i like they are either the are ulgy or cost to much. you gave me some hope at what i could do to the ulgy tables.
Linda Robinson
April 15, 2014 at 11:07 amI liked all of the afters. If I needed to do a table I am not sure which one I would do!
Janet
April 15, 2014 at 11:48 amLove your table! I have a inexpensive not too old kitchen table like number three ,cherry colored top,dark green bottom. No budget for new. Can you do that treatment on another wood other than oak,with decent results?
Kristi Linauer
April 15, 2014 at 11:30 pmYou can do other woods, but from what I’ve read, it works best on hard woods like oak.
Janet
April 16, 2014 at 2:28 pmJust returned from an estate sale,and found a rug to repurpose in my sewing room,just am crazy about estate sales!
Now hoping to find an oak kitchen table to ceruse,my present table will have to be just painted when it gets warmer in Ohio.
Thanks for your answer,and know that this Grammy from Ohio wil be waiting to hear the next installment of Kristi’s Kapers!!!!!!!!
MarySue
April 15, 2014 at 12:16 pmThis is inspiring! I wasn’t especially *looking* for a way to update our dining room table, but you’ve sparked a lot of ideas in my mind! Painting the legs black or white and doing something different with the top really appeals to me. I love the idea of the metal top, and also the whitewash. But if one does update a table, I suppose the chairs would also have to be done similarly? Which would be a huge job for us, since there are 12 chairs around our table. So that gives me pause.
Leena Lanteigne
April 15, 2014 at 12:39 pmSo many choices so few dining room tables! Isn’t it amazing the difference that some of these simple changes make? I must admit that the other day when I saw your post, I thought it said “cursed” table instead of “cerused” and figured that table must have really giving you fits! Glad that wasn’t the case since it turned out so beautifully! Gave me a good laugh though! LOL! Hugs, Leena
Kristi Linauer
April 15, 2014 at 11:29 pmHaha! Thank goodness I don’t have a “cursed” table! 😀
Angela
April 15, 2014 at 12:54 pmThank you so much for featuring my table!! All of the makeovers look amazing!!!
Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl
April 15, 2014 at 2:17 pmThose are some great ideas! Love the added glass panels on the last one. Genious! Thanks for sharing my stenciled tabletop ;-).
Cindy
April 15, 2014 at 3:44 pmI want to do that with my table! Was it difficult?
Cindy
April 15, 2014 at 3:41 pmLOVE these ideas! I loved the way your table turned out, however mine doesn’t have the beautiful wood grain pattern that yours does. Mine is like a butcher’s block with drop leaf sides on both ends. I do think I will try #3 for the top and transfer the pattern to the side like #5!!
Sharon
April 15, 2014 at 5:51 pmSo many beautiful tables. I am gorging on ideas here.
Brenda
April 15, 2014 at 6:00 pmThanks for 11 ideas, I found one I need!
Mary Anne Looby
April 15, 2014 at 6:50 pmHi Kristy, today as I was driving all over creation in the pouring rain, I kept thinking about cerusing. I just cannot get over the difference it made in your table. I was wondering if it would still be done by hand if it were on a floor. I have to redo my laundry room floor anyway, so I was toying with the idea. The room is aprox 10×12, I just don’t know if it is too big to try. It is such a cool look, can’t imagine how you would open the grain on the floor with out using a machine? Any thoughts?
Kristi Linauer
April 15, 2014 at 11:23 pmI don’t know of any other way to do it. Just buy the biggest brass wire brush you can find! 🙂 It’s definitely beautiful on a floor.
Sherry
April 15, 2014 at 8:51 pmHi Kristy I am a loyal Behr paint user as well though I have had other brands matched in Behr. Can you recommend a good black colour for furniture? I would love for you to share your go to colour for black?
Kristi Linauer
April 15, 2014 at 11:26 pmWhen I want a true black, I don’t use their paint chips. I just go right to the paint desk and ask for them to mix a true black for me. 🙂 It’s the deepest, darkest, truest black you can get.
Sherry
April 16, 2014 at 2:17 pmGood to know! Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to me. I love your blog and all the projects you do. It is so nice to gain knowledge and get inspiration from a fellow hobbyist. Thanks again!
Gilmer Gal
April 16, 2014 at 12:06 amI’m in love with the table with the nailheads! Thanks for sharing these
KPabst
April 16, 2014 at 7:08 amDid anyone report there were difficulties opening your e-mail post? I use an iPad and it would not open…went to your site and it worked fine.
Kristi Linauer
April 16, 2014 at 7:44 amNo, I didn’t hear that from anyone else. So sorry for the trouble!
Cathy Stenquist
April 16, 2014 at 8:12 amI have a challenge for you… I have a farmers type rectangular table that has white 10″ tiles (4 tiles x 7 tiles) with a 2 1/2″ light wood border. The table size still fits great, but tired of the white tile and white legs I would like to paint legs a pop color and perhaps redo wood trim… Ahhhh… but what to do with the white tiles? Have you had any success in refinishing tile top tables? Or have any suggestions? Thanks!
Melissa
April 16, 2014 at 2:01 pmI have the same question that Cathy posted previously. What to do with a table with tiles inlaid on the top? Mine are 4″ squares – 6×10 for a total of 60 tiles. I don’t necessarily need to do away the tiles, I’m just not sure which style will work best if I keep them.
Michelle
April 17, 2014 at 4:05 pmThank you for featuring my table! It remains one of my favorite DIY projects, even two years later! It has held up beautifully and we love it.
Sue
April 17, 2014 at 8:39 pmAwesome! The butcher block type one reminds me of end tables I picked up at a garage sale. I used contact appear to draw a design, sort of layered it to use three colors stain, but let the butcher block come thru the design. Anyways, they turned out sweet!
Kelly
April 17, 2014 at 11:14 pmI hate to see it, but almost without exception I like the before photos much more! The two-toned look is so 1990s!
Kristi Linauer
April 18, 2014 at 9:13 amThat’s definitely an interesting perspective seeing that there are two-toned tables in the latest issues of House Beautiful and Elle Decor, as well as the latest Southern Living Style Guide.
Your comment kind of reminded me of the woman who insisted that I use different colors in my house because “blue is soooo 90s.”
Nikki
April 22, 2014 at 5:05 pmI love all the beautiful country looks! I’m SO going to do this!
Elizabeth Sagarminaga
April 23, 2014 at 12:46 amI am in love with the table with the nail heads! Thanks for 11 ideas, Thanks for sharing these. I would love you to share your go to color for black. Love the added glass panels on the last one. Intellect!
Cynthia Hayes-Rupp
June 30, 2015 at 1:19 pmHi,
I like your ideas, but I’m still trying to come up with more- I have a victorian table that my husband loves because of its ability to enlarge- it can pull out to accommodate up to 20 people! but it has a way overcarved ornate pedestal. We live in a mid-century modern house which is yelling for something simple- any ideas? I saw your round victorian painted white, which is a good idea- but might be a little too farmhouse? but not ready to paint it black… but maybe something close- have you done any others? you’re a great help- thanks
George Milone
March 1, 2016 at 8:53 pmNice designs 🙂