So here it is, after two days of hard work! Before I show you the final result, let’s see how the dining table looked like before:

And this is how it looks now:

First I had to strip the existing paint to reveal the raw wood under it. Then I painted the base glossy white.

And then comes the interesting part of this project: my very own home made steel wool and vinegar stain. I put some steel wool into a container and then covered it with vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar). Then I let it sit for 24 hours. The more it sits, the darker the final result. After a week it should turn the wood almost black. But I wanted a grayish color for my table to make it look like old wood, so I only let it sit for 24 hours.

The color can be made darker with tea under the steel wool and vinegar stain. Apparently light color wood, like pine, are low in tannins, which you need to get the chemical reaction from the stain. Tea contains tannins so it makes a stronger reaction. I added two tea bags in one cup of hot water and let it brew for a while. When the tea had cooled down, I applied it to the wood using a paint brush. Then I let the wood dry. After it had dried, I applied my steel wool and vinegar stain. The wood starts to turn gray immediately. Here you can see the color chancing as the stain dries:

I did one more coat of tea+ stain and let it dry.

I added three coats of clear lacquer over the stain so that it would be durable enough for use.

I also made some other changes to the dining area: changed the curtain and replaced two white chairs for two black ones to mix it up a bit. I like the contrast it has now, much better!