DIY Coffee Staining 101

I had a boring, standard Ikea kitchen table and chairs. The bare pine was so starkly pale!
The day came, as it usually does, where I need a creative project. I got myself a lovely pour-over, some 220 grit sandpaper, and went at it:

My oh my, are they dull?! Absolutely no personality.

After a quick 220 grit sanding, I maybe some rather strong coffee.

I applied the coffee, grounds and all to the pine.

After three coats, you can really tell the difference! The coffee stain resembles oak.

Isn't that amazing? 

I read a few blogs that suggested linseed oil to seal the extremely non-toxic stain.

While I love that I idea, I already had some polycrylic on hand. 

There you have it! Beautiful, non-toxic, DIY, cheap as could be wood staining. Bonus, I got the whole thing done in about 6 hours. The coffee dries quickly and so did the polycrylic.

My advice to you would be: strain your coffee first. The grounds make cool speckling patterns, but they are the very devil to clean off.