Farmhouse Table

I really am a great big chicken at heart! (Just in case the name of the blog didn’t give that away already.)

I have been scared to death to actually try to BUILD something on my own…but oh, how I’ve wanted to.

Moving to a new house with a lovely empty dining room seemed to be the perfect opportunity to overcome my fear.

I chose to make a modification of Ana White’s Farmhouse Table.

Yeah, that’s me….never really built anything before (unless you count the laundry tower, but I have to change things like I know what I’m doing!!)

(via Ana White)

It’s gorgeous, isn’t it??  But for my purposes, I knew I had to make some changes.  For one thing, eight people have to sit around the table every day.   Although I love the look of the stretchers between the legs, let’s be honest—they would be a major pain for anyone sitting at the ends.

I also love the look of Pottery Barn’s Solomon table, so I chose to make mine look more like that.

(via Pottery Barn)

I adjusted the measurements of my table so I would end up with one 78” long x 40” wide, and plenty of space between the legs for three chairs!  I figured out all the cuts beforehand, and had a very nice man at Home Depot make them for me.  Oh, and one “extra” I had him do was to make a clean cut off the end before he started making the necessary measurements.  That way I knew I had all nice square cuts.

I came home and sanded…sanded…and sanded some more.  I started with 60 grit, then 120 grit, and finally with 220.

When I got the table base assembled, I was almost as proud of it as I am of my children, and I sent pictures via text messaging to several friends and sisters!

What I don’t have a picture of is that I added two 2x2 cross braces to keep the table square.  Alternatively, I think I could have added diagonal braces near each leg, but…I chose the other route!

Note:  The apron boards are flush to the top of the table legs, but set back about 1/4”.  I just used a piece of 1/4” scrap to offset them a bit.

Then there was the tabletop.  As you can see, I used three 2x8’s and two 2x10’s to give me a top that is about 40” wide.  The boards are all held together with pocket screws, about six per board.  The “breadboard” ends are also 2x8’s.

I will mention here that I did a pretty darn good job of picking out boards that were not bowed, or bent, or warped, or just plain wonky! 

I had to have a Home Depot employee help me sort out a good 4x4x10 piece (for the legs), and I’m sure he got sick of me rejecting board…after board…after board.  The others I managed on my own, and I had quite a pile of rejects left over when I was done!

However, I did have to go get one more 2x8 when I started assembling the table, as I hadn’t caught it’s funky little c-curve!

There was more sanding of the tabletop, and then the fun part!

I love staining.  It’s such instant gratification.

I put two coats of Minwax Weathered Oak on everything, and I really liked it.  It’s got a gray tint to it, but it’s not overpowering like a true gray stain, or even like the color you get using the vinegar-and-steel wool method.  However, in the end I decided I wanted a little more brown tone, so I mixed a little dark walnut stain in the last batch.

Rather than using pocket holes, I used metal L-brackets to attach the top to the base.  I gave everything three coats of Minwax Hand-rubbed Polyurethane, followed by one coat of Minwax Dark Wax.  I really dislike rustic furniture with a glossy finish, and this avoided that nicely!

And this is how it turned out…

I’m going to admit that while I was proud of it, I wasn’t IN LOVE with it right away.  I think that may have more to do with the color than anything; against the dark floors, everything just seemed too…brown.  I knew I wanted to do white or black (or another color?) chairs with it, though, so I figured I would like it better “all together.”

 

But just for an experiment, I thought…why not list it on Craigslist and see what happens???

  

Well, I did…and it sold!

Huh.  Back to the drawing board, I guess! 

And wouldn’t you know it…I bought the wood to make a bench for it just this morning  ;-)

I think I have officially been bitten by the building bug!

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This project has been featured at Knick of Time and My Repurposed Life.

 

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Linking up here:

Domestically Speaking	Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper	Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
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 Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence	Someday Crafts
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
Cowgirl Up! Thrifty Décor Chick	{aka} design Coastal Charm