Grace & Favor – A Life Worth Living

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Who Knew??????


Last fall my dear daughter in-law decorated their beautiful dining room table with pumpkins for the holiday.  One of those pumpkins left two white damage spots on the table.  Both Katie and I were just sick over what had happened and consulted a few people and websites on what might be done short of having the table refinished. This beautiful table is from the Bernhardt Martha Stewart East Hampton collection and was just a perfect piece for their new home. 

For a few months the spots were just ignored in hopes that the furniture fairy would come during the night and fix it... that didn't happen. Katie tried the mayonnaise treatment that was suggested by many people.  It didn't make the slightest difference on the damaged area, the good news from this experiment was that it didn't damage the finish further.  A few more months go by...coming up on a year since the great pumpkin debacle and there it is.....the damaged area staring up at us like two giant eyeballs.

I had recently done some additional research on the internet finding suggestions of using olive oil and soda, back to the mayo thing, etc.  One suggestion caught my eye and read as follows:  Use your steam iron set on medium heat but high steam, place a doubled over towel over the damaged area and move the iron with steam back and forth over the damaged area with a light touch.  Do not put pressure on the table with the iron and the damage area should disappear within a couple of minutes.  There were many many testimonials on how this method had worked.  

Last night I stopped by to see my grand puppies before leaving on a trip and Katie and I were discussing yet another consultation I had with a furniture vendor earlier in the day, nothing new or helpful came from that conversation.  Between kisses from the pups Katie and I decided to give the iron method a try...at this point facing the prospect of calling in a furniture specialists to refinish the table what did we have to lose?

HOLY COW IT WORK!!!!! I was practically giddy when I left the house last night knowing that something that has been gnawing at both of us for months had been repaired.  I mean there is no sign of any damage at all, the table is again a beautiful piece of furniture.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures to show you what the damaged area looked like before and after but take my word for it I was astonished at the results.

I feel like I should be standing out in front of the big furniture store in town with a sign that says
"I KNOW A SECRET" . 

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Whodathunkit??? I will defintely store that away in case, God forbid, I ever have to deal with that problem. So glad it worked!!

Designs on 47th Street said...

What a surprise! That is a really great hint. I think I would have almost been afraid to try it but you probably didn't think you had anything to lose. This is a great hint Char.

And on top of all that, you got free puppy kisses!

Happy to know the table looks great again. That would have been so upsetting.

Cathy said...

That's good to know. I have a white spot on my dr table and will give this a try.

Paula@SweetPea said...

I need to tell Mama about this because there's a white mark on her dining room table that we'd both love to get rid of. Thanks for sharing this tip with us!

Denise said...

I have a bad place on my table. Right now it's covered with our Thanksgiving tablescape, but as soon as that's gone, I'm trying this.

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

I have heard doing this to remove water rings but had completely forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder! I am going to give it a try on my end table.
Hugs, Sherry

Savannah Granny said...

WOW! I am filing this one. One never knows when this one will come in handy. Thanks for sharing.
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. I had been gone so long I was afraid no one would visit. You are great. Hugs, Ginger

Rettabug said...

That is just amazing! I must make a note of it, for future reference.

When we first moved into our new house in FL, I set a tomato on the marble window sill to ripen. It left a stain & I NEVER could get that out, so I know EXACTLY how you felt about those pumpkin marks!

southerninspiration said...

Wow, what a great mother in law you are!!!! :D
I am so surprised, too that that worked! cool!
suzanne

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