Dining Set Re-Do or "I'm too cheap to go buy a new one"

We bought our dining table and chairs when we moved into this house nine and a half years ago.  We really didn't want to spend a lot of money on a expensive more formal set, so I found and bought this set at Kmart for 200 bucks.  Being tall people, we love the bistro height and very surprisingly it has held up remarkably well for as much use as it gets.  Fred has had to tighten up some of the screws over the years on the chairs, but for the most part, it's done it's job well.

I have noticed in just the last year or so that the top of the table is starting to really wear, the finish was almost gone.  I really didn't want to go out and buy another one since it does serve it's purpose well and knew I could probably breathe more life into the set with a little imagination and work.

I decided to paint the top of the table black to tie in with the other black cabinets and island in the kitchen, but I wouldn't be able to use latex paint for the job.

Latex is fine for some projects but this table was going to require a oil based paint.  It's much more durable than latex, but clean up is MESSY, so I decided whatever brushes I used, I was going to just toss after I was finished rather than trying to clean up with paint thinner and mineral spirits.  It was worth the money to just toss the sponge and foam rollers and brushes.

I started with the table......had to take it out to the garage for fear of certain household cats that would possibly hop up on the wet painted table and then carry OIL-BASED paint throughout the house, so I nipped that little problem right in the bud.  After sanding the top and sides of the table, I used a tack cloth to get rid of all of the dust and even washed it down before starting to apply the paint.

I used a Rustoleum High Gloss Black and used a sponge roller to apply it.  It took two coats but it turned out pretty darn good.

I liked the contrast of the wood and the black.

To finish the re-do, I decided to paint the decorative curves of the back of the chairs black also.  These were a bit harder to prep and paint because of the area involved.

I'm glad I decided to take the time to do the chairs too because I think it added just the right touch to the set.

Now, I'm going to work on a pop of color for the room........stayed tuned.   :)