Grand Truss Table & Benches

This could be the one.

Really.

The number of tables that have come and gone in my dining room since the beginning of the year has become a little bit of a joke.

I think this makes seven.

And the funny part is…this one won’t be staying either!

I built this as a custom order for a woman I met at the October Market, but I’m not sure I want to let it go!

This thing is huge—8 feet long!  (That’s why it’s “Grand.”)

The benches are 80” each, and it easily seats 10 people with chairs at the ends—you could squeeze 12 in if they’re friendly!  The benches are an adaptation of Ana White’s Providence bench. 

The table…well, it was a bit of an adventure.  I started out looking at the Providence Table plans, but I knew I wanted a chunkier base…and the plan page directed me to Design Confidential plans.  Unfortunately, the plans from Design Confidential are not as well-written as Ana’s plans, plus some of the measurements are just plain…wrong.  I had to do a little “winging” of things as I went along.

After my table was done, I found that Ana White does have her own 4x4 truss table plans here.  Oh, how I wish I had realized that at the beginning; it would have saved me a grand headache!  But I guess I can say that mine is an “original!” 

The other big change for this table is the color.  I have been playing with light, old, weathered looks for all the others, and I loved them….

….but I think my heart really lies with dark.  My customer wanted a very dark Pottery Barn-esque finish, I think I achieved it, with FOUR coats of Minwax Antique Walnut, mixed with a little ebony here and there (not a separate coat) for depth of color.  The staining and finishing took FOR.EV.ER, but it was totally worth it in the end.

You can also get a glimpse of exposed hardware on this table.  Rather than use pocket holes (which is problematic on 4x4 lumber anyway), I used 5-inch lag screws to attach the beams together.  It just adds to the rustic quality, I think.

The only way I can reconcile myself to giving up this table is knowing that I can build another one…for me!  Plus, 8-feet is really too big for my dining room, darn it.

I’ll just enjoy looking at it until it goes to its new home!

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack

Modified Breadboard Farm Table

My dining room is empty again.

I built another farmhouse-style table before the Barn Sale in August, but it didn’t sell there, nor at the October Market.  That didn’t bother me at all, as it looked very nice in my dining room!

I made this one a little smaller than usual; it was just 72 inches long rather than 78 inches.  But it would still seat eight, thanks to the narrow pressed-back chairs I found and painted black to go with it.

The other side got a bench (modified from Ana White).  I originally painted the bench a soft dill green, but I didn’t care for it much…so I painted black over the green, but used the Vaseline trick to give it a very chippy finish.

I call this table top a “modified breadboard.”  Breadboard ends extend across the whole width of a top, but in this case I only made them for the middle three boards of the table.  So the long side boards are the entire length of the table.

It just gives it a little different look, which I like.

I also played with a little white wash on this table.  It makes it look a little gray-er, in my opinion, and adds to the look of age.

This may sound silly…but I’m excited that it’s gone, because now I get to build another one    I am actually working on a HUGE custom table for someone right now, and it’s nice that I’ll have the space to photograph it before it goes to its new home!  But then…I get to figure out what to do next…for ME…

…at least for a little while!

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack

Ombre Stained Dressers

I have been busy building a massively heavy table and two benches over the last couple of days, and I have the sore muscles to prove it!  It is beginning to all come together…today I just need to go buy some wood for the bench tops, and then I’ll be ready to sand, sand, sand…and start the finishing process.

So this morning I’m pulling up a couple of pieces that I sold at the October Market.  My crummy cell phone photos are the best I could do—the weather never was nice enough in the days before the Market to get decent pictures!

I found these two matching chests at Goodwill.  I do have a little weakness for mid-century furniture…I love the clean lines of it, although I don’t imagine its something I will ever use in my own home.  But that’s why I refinish furniture, so I have an excuse to PLAY with pieces I would never keep for myself!

My idea for what to do with these dressers evolved over time.  Originally I was going to do an ombre paint treatment in shades of gray, but after I sanded off the old finish, I decided to try stain.

Then my first try of staining was a bust.  Although I used three different colors of stain, they all came out looking the same!

Some flaws in the finish led to me trying again, and the next time I chose three REALY different colors of stain!

The bottom is Ebony, the middle is English Chestnut, and the top is Natural (all Minwax brand).

I love how the pattern of the wood grain is consistent down the front of the drawers.  It makes it easy to know which drawers go together!

They make a nice pair, don’t you think?  I sold them to a lady who was going to use them in an attic bedroom space where the walls are short…a perfect fit!

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack

Treadle Table

Several weeks ago I went to an estate sale.  As I was poking around the dark dusty corners in a shed, I found a treasure….

Covered in YEARS of grime and dust, home to approximately 764 spiders, it was beautiful to me!
I have NO idea how long it must have sat out there, only marginally protected from the elements.  You can see that the finish was shot and the drawers were falling out…

…but the base was intact.  I took the cabinet off, cleaned up the base, and then freshened it up with a new coat of paint.

Inspired by Full Circle Creation’s sewing base remake, I built a new top with a shelf underneath.  I just think it makes the whole thing just a little more useful (wouldn’t it make a great nightstand for one of those tall beds?).

And because I can’t live without my old graphics…I used this vintage clothing ad from the Graphics Fairy to dress up the top.  I was trying to make it look like an old crate or something!

I love the combination of wood and metal in so many things!  Wish I had a place in my house for this one.

This is actually the second sewing base I have remade like this, inspired by Holly.  The first one sold at the Barn Sale before I had a proper picture of it, but you can get a glimpse here (I used this Graphics Fairy image):

Which one do you like better?

Note:  I've had some questions about the transfer method I used...well, I didn't use one.  I used my Silhouette machine to create a vinyl stencil out of the Graphics Fairy images, and then I painted the images on.

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack

Multi-colored Console Table

My garage has been SO full of rehab projects that I have had neither the time nor the space to build anything for a while!  Last week after I finally got most of what needed to be done…well, done…it moved into the house for a while and I squeezed out a few square feet of space to build.

I loved this rustic console / buffet table I built a few months ago, and I have wanted to make another one.  The plans for this one came from the Sawdust Girl. 

I finished the top and legs with a custom gray/brown stain mix, but then I used a little ebony stain on the edges for a more weathered look.

My favorite part is this center shelf.  I came across a whole bunch of 5” strips of plywood in the scrap pile at Lowe’s.  I bought the whole lot of it for just such a project as this!

I ripped each strip in half, so mine are about 2.5” wide.  I nailed a cleat around the inside of the shelf so I could lay the strips neatly in place.  The fun part, of course, was using multiple stains for the plywood…I used ebony, golden pecan, mahogany, and dark walnut.  Then a few of them got a wash of teal paint.  There is no rhyme or reason to their placement…I just went with what looked good to me.

I’m really happy with how it turned out, and anxious to do something similar with the rest of the plywood!

Just have to clear space in my garage…again!

This project has been featured at Elizabeth & Co. and Coastal Charm.

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack

October Market

I am beginning to recover from the Ruffles & Rust October Market that happened this past weekend.  No matter how much time I have leading up to a market—the last three weeks is when the big PUSH happens, and that last week is frantic in trying to get as many projects completed as possible!  For some reason this one stressed me out more than the August Barn Sale—probably because I was expecting it to be BIGGER—although it didn’t turn out to be.

I had most of the day Thursday and Friday to set up for the show.  When I left Thursday afternoon, this is what things were looking like….

…by Friday afternoon, I had my friend Stacy there with me to help with set-up, so of course we moved everything around!

I also tend to bring more stuff than I really have room for.  The producers of this show are SUPER nice, though, and are perfectly willing to let me spread out a little!  So I also commandeered some space next to the wall just across the aisle.

That secretary on the left looks way more blue than it was in person.  I painted it Valspar Vintage Teal, and then glazed it with undiluted ebony stain.  It was the most gorgeous color!  It sold almost immediately.

The creamy storage bench sold, as did the red lazy susan and the trunk.  I brought home the bar stools and the rocking horse—but that one wasn’t really surprising as I had a pretty hefty price tag on it, as I explained here (Stacy teased me about that a lot). 

Although I brought card catalog home with me (and let me tell you, Stacy wasn’t thrilled about toting it…again!) I got a call on the drive home from someone who wanted it, so we just unloaded it to the sidewalk and it was gone 45 minutes later!

One of my farm tables is in the middle, along with three chairs and a bench.  It didn’t sell, but I had several people take cards who may be interested in custom tables later.

I was actually pretty disappointed in how little furniture I sold.   And to be honest—in the end I did not make as much money as I did at the August show, although this one was supposed to be “bigger.”  In talking to several other vendors, though, it wasn’t just me—and they had some of the same feedback from the vendors they had talked to.  Now don’t get me wrong—I still made money, but I wasn’t thrilled about how much I had to haul home!

The good thing, though, is that furniture is pretty easy to sell on Craigslist—it’s the small stuff that’s harder to sell through the classified ads.  So I expect to slowly empty out my leftovers over the next couple of weeks.

There are too many items that I didn’t get pictures of.  We had rainy weather for days leading up to the show, so photographs just didn’t happen.  It’s a shame, too, as there were some pretty pieces!  If the sun comes out today, I’ll have to snap a few pictures of some of those “leftovers” of mine!

First Aid

First Aid.  I feel like I need some!  Seriously.

This last week of show prep for the Ruffles & Rust Vintage Market has almost killed me!  I am soooo tired, but the end is in sight!  Yesterday with the help of a friend I was able to haul about 80% of my stuff to the show location.  This morning a different friend will help me with the last 20%, and then we will arrange, tweak, and price.  Tonight the sale starts! 

But speaking of First Aid…here’s a little project that I finished for the show.  Inspired by Homeroad’s First Aid Foot Locker, I turned a beat-up wooden chest into a First Aid box.

I came across this one at an estate sale.  I *love* old wooden boxes!

This one’s bottom was hanging loose…I know how that feels…

But it was nothing a few nails couldn’t fix!

I painted the box with a few different whites, creams, and grays for a layered look, then I painted the cross and the lettering with a stencil I made with my Silhouette.  The box had had years of oil and grease on it, so it naturally went very “chippy” when I sanded it!

This is actually my second First Aid chest…the first one I made for the Barn Sale in August.  I liked it so much that I put what I thought was a pretty steep price tag on it, because I wasn’t sure I wanted it to sell!  But alas…someone snatched it away almost immediately!

This project has been featured at Knick of Time and Domestically Speaking.

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack

A French Bench

I am frantically working on a whole slew of last-minute projects for the Ruffles & Rust Vintage Market THIS WEEKEND!  Set up starts tomorrow, and I still have sooooo much to do!  I am also hoping for just a teeny tiny bit of sunshine so I can take pictures of all my finished projects….that never really happened before the last market, and I’m still kicking myself for all the un-photographed projects.

But here’s one that does have pictures!

When my parents were visiting a couple of weeks ago, I dragged my mother and sister to JUST ONE estate sale before we hit the mall (they don’t share my obsession).  I found this little treasure, which I turned in to a “French Bench.”

I found it tucked away in an upstairs bedroom, filled with old sheet music, broken class, and spiderwebs!

I sanded down the old finish, which thankfully also removed the suspicious red stains.  What was that, I wonder?   Ink?  Kool-Aid?  Cherry soda??

I perused my Pinterest French Typography Board and pulled up a Graphics Fairy advertisement that was perfect for the top. 

I painted it on using an overhead projector and plain old acrylic paint like I did with my French Chocolate Coffee Table. 

I love the little bit of storage in this bench, and I love the funky iron base.  Wouldn’t it make a fun entry piece to store mittens and scarves during the cold months?

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Linking up here:

The Inspiration Exchange	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	The Scoop!
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	The DIY Show Off Miss Mustard Seed
Beyond the Picket Fence	Coastal Charm
Knick of Time	Domestically Speaking
Perfectly Imperfect	No Minimalist Here
Common Ground	My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours	Mod Vintage Life A Little Knick Knack