1. Paint it a bold hue.
Covering an ugly dining room table with a fresh, modern hue is always a great solution if you can’t stand to look at it anymore.
2. Refinish the top.
You’d be surprised what a new finish on an old dining table can do. Yes, a bold, arresting color will definitely shock the senses and be a great makeover for an old table you don’t love anymore.
3. Distract with chairs
If you don’t want to do too much with the table (or can’t because it’s a family heirloom) consider instead making over the chairs. Everything from giving them a new paint job (to perhaps just dipped legs) to even covering them with DIY sewn fabric chair backs or cushions can take the attention of a less-than-desired dining table.
4. Forget chairs
Actually, you can totally forget about chairs entirely if you’re trying to make over your existing dining table. No, we’re not suggesting you stand around it to eat; we just mean why not find another type of seating? Replacing your chairs with say, stools or benches, like the one shown in this Brooklyn apartment will put your existing dining table in an entirely different context, making it feel fresh and like new.
5. Add a pretty tablecloth.
One of the easiest and less permanent ways to alter the look of an existing dining table is to simply add a table cloth that fits with the overall aesthetic of the room.
6. Install an eye-catching light fixture
Just like a serious set of dining chairs can distract from a dining table you don’t love, so too can a bold and arresting light fixture.
7. Set it.
That great dinnerware you store away and hardly ever let see the light of day? Use it to set a table to give the whole dining room a feel of fullness and be the star of the space (instead of a dining table you don’t love).
8. Replace the base
If you don’t like your dining table, examine whether it’s the whole thing you don’t like, or just one part. Because depending on your DIY comfort level and your table’s construction, you may be able to swap out a new base — or heck, maybe even a new top!