Decorating on a dime

In the Fall, I'm moving to another town to begin my MA program. So this summer has meant busying myself with finding cheap furniture and accessories with which to dress up my new apartment. Last week, I acquired a solid oak table (for FREE!) from a lovely sikh man who lives down the street. He put the table by the curb, as if to leave it for the garbage truck to take it away. As my mother was walking by the man's house, she noticed it's good quality and condition and rushed home to tell me about it. Together we dashed back to the man's house to retrieve the table from the side of the road. Score? I think so! 1UP me!

Tomorrow, I'm going to paint the table black. And to go with the table, I've got some chairs that need refinishing (also thrifted for 5 dollars apiece). I've done one so far. Below is the before and after The other will get done along with the table.