How it all began, & a Red Hen version of a Pottery Barn Dining Table

In case you were wondering how I got started on my table-building spree…I’m here to tell the tale!

Our new home has an actual dining room, and I’ve spent WAY too much time dreaming and wondering and imagining what kind of table I’d like to put in there…

I fell in love with this look first…

Traditional Dining Room by Seattle Kitchen And Bath Warmington & North

…as well as this one.

Pottery Barn

The Pottery Barn table (above) particularly made my heart go pitty-pat.  I love the fact that it is large enough to seat eight people (since there are that many of us), and it also extends to seat even more.  What I didn’t love was the price—anywhere between $1700-$2500, depending on if you were in store, on-line, or standing on your head (meaning…there is no rhyme or reason to it). 

I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I’m just too cheap frugal. 

So I decided to try building my own table.  I had wanted to try building something for a long time, and surely this was my golden opportunity!  It wouldn’t extend, but I figured the money I would save would make me feel better about it!

So I started with this one:

…and then I sold it. 

Then I made another:

…and another:

I sorta-kinda joked with my husband that if I could only build and sell five or six tables, I could afford the Pottery Barn one!  But really, I was having so much fun building tables, I couldn’t bring myself to stop!

After building three of the same style table, I decided to make some small changes to get closer to that PB one I loved.  And this is what I came up with.

I followed the measurement of the PB table almost exactly.  I wanted the maximum possible room between the legs for the people sitting on the sides.

I swapped out the super thick top with breadboard ends for a thinner version.  I used three 1x10’s and two 1x8’s, and skipped the breadboard ends. 

I liked the pretty little brackets that detailed the legs on the PB table, so I made some of my own.

I don’t have a band saw, so I had to be nervy and make my husband ask a new neighbor if *I* could borrow theirs 

…but I made homemade cinnamon rolls for payment!

Here are my pretty little brackets…aren’t they cute??

You may recognize the bench from here.  I liked how its curves complemented the table, even though I didn’t choose to keep it! 

The chairs were purchased from World Market when they were on sale.  The kids are jealous that their dad and I get the GOOD chairs!    Especially since they don’t actually have chairs yet; I’m still on the hunt for those!

So that’s my version of the PB Solomon dining table.  It doesn’t extend.  But it’s solid wood and cost about a tenth of the price to make (and that’s on a good day). 

I’m sure you’re all dying to know…are you keeping the table??

Well….no.

Oh, go ahead.  Roll your eyes if you want to.

But remember how I said it was fun to build tables??  Well, it IS!  And I keep having new ideas I want to try out, and you can’t just keep building tables if you also aren’t selling them at the same time…

So I sold it.

We got to eat Easter dinner at it first.

But now it’s gone.

My husband thinks we should put a revolving door in the dining room.

He may be right!

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Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time Mod Vintage Life	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	Sawdust Throwdown
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	All Star Block Party A Little Knick Knack
The Scoop!