Dining Room Progress? - ORC Week 3

Yikes! The One Room Challenge is half over and I’m definitely not half finished with my dining room. I’m starting to feel the time crunch! On the plus side, all of the large pieces have been ordered and have been delivered/are scheduled to be delivered this week. The cup rack is scheduled to be delivered this week…although, I’m still not sure if it’s going to work on that wall or not. If not, I have a backup plan, but of course that means another project will be added to my to-do list. Hopefully I can make the cup rack work…

I also ordered a pair of upholstered chairs for the ends of the table. They are actually the same chairs I ordered the first time, but a different color fabric. I think the charcoal will be a nice contrast with all of the white furniture and won’t look completely out of place because our sectional is a similar color. The chairs are scheduled to be delivered today.


In other news, re-staining the dining bench has been more difficult than I thought it would be. I sanded it down over the weekend and started to re-stain it, but hated the color, so I had to sand it down again and try again. I spent a lot of time this week researching different finishes, so I have a new plan now that I’m going to try this weekend. Right now it just has a coat of Minwax Weathered Oak.  



I also put the dining table together this week. I had originally planned to just work on the bench in case I messed it up. I figured that way I could still return the table and only be out like $50, but I decided to go all-in and work on both at the same time. I’m mostly worried if I do them separately, the finishes might not match and I don’t want them to look wonky next to each other. In the picture below, the table has the original finish and the bench has been sanded plus one coat of stain.


So yeah, not a lot of progress…I’m definitely starting to worry, as per usual with the ORC. In order to get back on track and meet the deadline, by next week I want to have the table and bench stained, make an official decision on if the cup rack will work or not, and finish the roman shade for the back door.

Oh, and thanks for all the feedback on painting the table/bench/chairs! Most of you suggested waiting until everything is put together and living with it as-is for awhile before painting anything. I think that’s pretty solid advice, so that’s my plan for now. OK, here’s the official to-do list: 

Buy farmhouse table and matching bench
Refinish table and bench tops
Paint table and bench legs?
Sell old table on Craigslist
Buy 2 wood dining chairs
Paint dining chairs?
Buy 2 upholstered captain’s chairs
Hang ironstone cup rack
Replace light fixture – maybe?
Sew faux roman shade/valance
Accessories/finishing touches 



Don't forget to check out the official participants here and the other linking participants here! There's some really talented people out there and I'm getting excited to see the finished rooms!


7 comments

  1. Living with it for a while first--always solid advice, hard to follow through with (for me at least!). Kudos on your patience and restraint! Side by side with the table, you can really see the difference your sanding/staining made on the bench. It looks great! Love the look of the upholstered chairs, too. I'm seeing your vision, and it's going to be great!

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  2. Love those chairs...so classic!! ORC Anxiety is usually what gets the job done...I'm worrying as well lol!!

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  3. Sam, I'm getting caught up on your ORC project and it's coming along so great! Love your table, stool and upholstered chairs, and your pretty fabric that you shared last week! Can't wait to see more of this transformation!

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  4. Ugh! I'm sorry you're not seeing much progress, but I'm sure you'll get that stain figured out soon (we're going through the same thing with our wall). Looking forward to seeing how it turns out! PS. LOVE the chairs!

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  5. Love those upholstered chairs. I know your room will come together nicely. Can't wait to see the finished project.

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  6. I actually like the light color on the bench now, I think it goes nicely with the white legs. But I am always partial to anything light and bright. :) It all starts to take shape now, love the progress.

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  7. Love the chairs! Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

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