How many tables does one need? - or - TWELVE is the magic number.

March 15, 2016

How many tables does one need? - or - TWELVE is the magic number.

We've done it. We've bought another piece of furniture.

This time, it's the table of all tables.

We already own:

The OH's old IKEA table. Not sexy. Relatively practical - if you only ever share a meal with under five people, that is.
K's singing teacher's husband's family heirloom oak drop-leaf table. Beautiful. From a country house sale in the 1930s (so family legend has it). Somewhat unpractical if there are more than two of you, unless there are little children who can squeeze either side of the drop-leaf supports.
A 'souvenir' formica table from the Scandinavia Cafe, which sadly closed in 2015. Super practical. Super sixties. Super small.
A little handmade oak table rescued from the allotment shed.
The Atomic coffee table. Or rather a 'Nathan' 'Atomic-style' one, from Danny's.
A folding teak table from... dare I say... Argos.
A metal garden bistro table. Cheap and cheerful. Dare I say... from Argos again.
A ruby red IKEA computer table.
A freebie hexagonal teak garden table on its last legs, about to go to table heaven (possibly via our wood burning stove).
The Little Queen Anne table from Danny's (I think).
The German beer garden table (with original Bavarian chewing gum underneath).

So clearly, there was need for one more table, don't you think?

And the requirements for the most practical table were:

- needs to be below 70 cm deep, to allow enough circulation space
- needs to be above 65 cm deep, to allow enough space on the table
- needs to sit at least six people
- needs to be extendable
- needs to be pull out, rather than drop-leaf, as drop-leaf would get in the way
- must fit with the interior (an eclectic mix of old and new)
- must be second-hand, for sustainability brownie points

We had a keen eye on eBay and found this one - tadah! This was how it looked in the listing.

And yes, we brought it home. I was pleasantly surprised with it. eBay can be a bit of a risk - and it was hard to judge from the photos how old the table would be.

Now that I was able to have a proper look, I'd say it's a handmade table, from maybe a church hall or community centre. Possibly 1940s? It smells strongly of shoemaker's glue, has some burn marks and a repaired bit where someone accidentally sawed into a corner (I know what that looks like, I've done it myself). It is clearly handmade, with an ingenious and sturdy mechanism for the pull-out sections. The wood, I think, is teak.

It was varnished, which gave it the look of a 1980s computer desk - so that varnish had to go pretty damn quick.

So, orbital sander out. First sanded with 60, then 80, then 120, then 180, then 320 grit. Would using even finer grit give it a slight sheen.

And the wood under the varnish is lovely...

Then I oiled the table with walnut oil. I'd pondered whether to use Danish oil, but that contains some kind of varnish, and I'd been glad to get the varnish off in the first place. So I'll see how this goes. Might end up waxing it.