I guess I'm definitely not alone here, I thought the person I bought mine from had put some sort of finish atop the factory finish to hide damage and it reacted but it seems it's just a factory defect. If anyone is interested I got most of my old finish off using "grease lightning" but this also lifted a lot of the stain which I believe may be in the lacquer as well. I'm in the process now of refinishing mine, I sanded it down to bare wood and finish sanded using 220 grit, I've applied a coat of minwax golden oak stain. It's definitely not as dark as the rest of the collection but it does look quite good, I'm probably going to tint the topcoats to get it a bit darker, maybe even orange shellac if that doesn't warm it too much. I'd like to seal it with an oil based poly but the fumes aren't tolerable in my small house so it'll have to be water base. I've attached a photo of the top with the first coat of finish on it if anyone is interested. I did not contact Broyhill and just opted to do it myself rather than be without a table or go through the process of a warranty claim. I have to wonder what Broyhill is doing to use such a susceptible finish. I've built and finished a lot of my own furniture an never had problems even with consumer based finishes on tables, I'd think something done under controlled conditions where toxic chemicals can be dealt with safely would produce a much more durable product than anything DIY but I guessed wrong. Just another tip, if you flip the table over or even one of the leaves you can test your finishes on that surface⦠I would sand it down though as it's quite rough but it is not finished, the wood appears to be red oak on mine. Good luck to anyone redoing their table too. Here is a link that might be useful: This post was edited by robwas on Wed, Nov 27, 13 at 23:21

What is the budget range you want to stay in? I love circa lighting - but it can be pricey... http://www.circalighting.com/category.aspx?cid=39 country industrial sloane grosvenor

You have a lot of space, it's just not working very well, esp those little lips that pass for work spaces. If you could really re-do the entire space cost effectively, that would be best, not only for now but for longterm. Can you give us a good idea of what you have in budget and how much DIY you can expend? And where you are in the nation--climate, costs, labor, etc? One problem with planning on finding antiques and useful castoffs is that you will find them a week after you quit your search and commit to a plan B. Doesn't sound as if you have the luxury of time to collect useful stuff. I like to think that our G-shaped kitchen is somewhat like a farm kitchen. We can have 4 working cooks inside without saying "excuse me." We got new oak "shaker" cabinetry by a local guy at $8,000-10,000 and $3500 for finish and installation--you can avoid much of this if you re-use your oldies and work in some additional ones or perhaps just doors, trims, etc. We had to put in new floor and walls and plumbing and electrical fittings and had to marry three wood floors and accompanying walls, which was a big expenditure in time and money. You're in a better position--not making new spaces. As you note, you don't need to follow all the fanciest choices--we sure didn't for much of our project. I like the idea of Ikea butcherblock (we have two hunks of this in beech) but don't discount the new laminate countertops either. Don't feel the need to buy new appliances right now--you can leave standard spaces and swap out your stuff later. That's what we did--hard to trash or sell a 4 yr old Energy Star refrig so we didn't put it into a custom housing. When it dies or someone decides to trade it out, it can go. We have very modest appliances; affordable white enamel in sinks and appliances. If the old cabs are salvageable, it's possible to get doors to match new units. Or give your plain slab fronts a custom paint treatment, perhaps paint with one color and add a distinctive recurrent stencil motif along the bottoms of doors or such in a complimentary color. Then if the other new unit doors are similar, the motif can be used to make them match more. It's very important to plan for the young people when they become adults, or at least adult in physical presence. What will grown up women feel like in the space--you and a subordinate or co-cook? That collision potential was the worst aspect of our old kitchen and the best part of our better planned new space. I actually like other people better in an efficient kitchen than in an inefficient kitchen, or put it another way, my old kitchen made me dislike my own family sometimes. On one of my constant tirade topics, I recommend pullout breadboards/cutting boards to expand work surfaces and plunk space. Are your countertops less than 24 inches at present or do they just seem narrow? Eliminating the 1-inch backsplash at back give you another inch of room on counter. What amp electrical service do you have and how extensive will the work be to bring everything to code if it's not there already? Will you be opening up any exterior walls? If so, insulate, insulate, insulate. Even if it costs. Since you have marked that you are moving the sink, give yourself permission to really redo the room arrangement--you're committed to plumbing costs already. Strongly urge you to visit the paint counter each time you are in a store--ask about "mistake paint." One of our vendors gives it away; others ask $5 per gallon. This stuff might give you the freedom to paint insides of cabs & closets, clean up stained areas, etc. You can try some experiments with it too. Consider a movable work/island cart as a way to expand efficiency. If the floor cleans up but still looks sad, consider stencil painting a design on it, perhaps in a classic folk motif if that's your taste. Or just checks, stripes, rectangles for rugs, whatever. There are a lot of examples to look at and a wise pattern can reinforce or define a room's visual layout--walkpaths, work zones, etc.

Dianne -- yes, I would not want to linger over a meal on stools. But a quick breakfast on a stool isn't that bad. As I said it's where you "eat" rather than "dine". We have an interesting story about this work island. We got it from the Scottish Rite in our town when they closed and auctioned everything off. This very table was where we prepped DD's wedding dinner (as we rented the Scottish Rite kitchen for our wedding kitchen because it was right across the street from the reception venue) so it has memories. But I think you'd be happier with a rectangle especially if it is in the middle of the room. As far as "old" rectangular tables -- they're popular now so there should be a lot to chose from -- real antiques as well as those that are made to look like antiques.