The dining room has made a ton of progress since this post.  Originally, I had wanted to stain the table darker to make it look old, but the more I looked at stains and did research it seemed that new tables stained to look old really just looked like new tables trying to look old.  I'm sure there are some amazing concoctions out there, but in the end I felt that the natural look was best for me.  So, we simply did a couple coats of a low-sheen poly to seal it.  I was very happy with the outcome.  We have also built the bench AND (drumroll please) bought our head dining chairs. While I love all of our craigslist and thrift store finds (which honestly is about 3/4 of our house), this was the first time I've picked out and purchased dining chairs from a store, and it was very exciting to say the least.  I've had my eye on these guys for a couple years now, and I'm still surprised when I walk by them that they are in my house.  I'm going to do a dining room "reveal" down the road, but for now here is another sneak peak.