A little General!

Have you heard of General Finishes gel stains? I hadn't but from Pinterest I noticed some fantastic transformations of maple, pine, and oak furniture and cabinets.  

I was tiring of the pine and oak in my living room and dining room. I thought the only way to transform the furniture was the prime and paint method. 

The after:

 The before:

 The mid project:

 The final product:

But I wasn't sold on that for my dining room. Again, here is the before:

Yes, definitely pine and oak!

I am lucky enough to have a supplier here for the General Finishes gel stains. It was really inexpensive. After googling and you-tubing and reading (investigating and snooping) I decided on the Java stain. It is a dark, dark hue. I have to say what is the best part is --no priming! I just cleaned the surfaces and then began putting on the coats of stain. I think it took about three different applications. I began with a sponge brush and then used an old sock over my gloves for the final coat. Then it was on to the poly. I had enough in a quart to do both the table and the china cabinet and still have some left. I did the china cabinet one weekend and the table another. I haven't decided on what to do with the chairs yet!

I do have to say that using a sanding block with a 320 grit makes for a wonderfully smooth surface!

Almost finished:

And finished:

Excuse my photographs--I need a quality camera with a photographer that knows what she is doing.