Ding! Dong! The dining table is DONE!

Back in October, I posted about our plans to build a dining room table. 

Well, I'm happy to announce that Chris has finished it and now we have our very own one-of-kind farmhouse table.

Who knew he was so handy? No seriously...who knew?

Here's a rough breakdown of the cost to make the table 

(not including the tools that we already had such as saws and drills):

table legs (we ordered them from here) $270

wood for the top (we used 2x10's)  $60

wood for the bread board (we used 2x6's) $12

wood for the apron (we used 2x4's and 1x2's) $24

stain (we used Minwax's honey satin polyshades) $16

misc. (sandpaper, foam paintbrushes, polyurethane, rags, etc) $20

..........................................

rough total: $400

Considering that farmhouse tables start at around $1500, I'd say we saved a penny or two!

Since Chris pretty much took over this entire project and I did next to nothing (except help make decisions regarding the style of legs and the stain color), I asked him to share his thoughts on the process. 

Here's some tips he has to offer:

• Make sure you have a solid plan before you even start. I sketched out the measurements so that there weren't any surprises along the way. 
• Use online resources for examples of plans, how to use tools, etc. I like Ana White's website and YouTube. 
• Be patient. At some points it seems like it's going to be a disaster but it all comes together in the end. 
• I used pocket-holes for all joinery which provides strong support. Drilling them is quick and easy too.
• When staining (my least favorite part), apply in thin coats because you can always add more color but if you apply it too thick, it becomes blotchy.
• I used wood conditioner after sanding and before staining.
• Make sure your project is clean of sawdust and dirt before staining to avoid bumps and blotches.
• When applying a polyurethane, sand it in between coats. That's what makes it super smooth. 

As far as the chairs go, I admittedly splurged a little. 

My rationale was that we saved on the table by making it ourselves so we could spring for buying some new chairs. 

I found and bought these Safavieh Eleanor X-Back chairs here.

As for the two brown chairs on the end, those are just temporary and are from a garage sale. 

I finally went for it and purchased two of Restoration Hardware's French Barrelback chair (with a 20% off coupon--never pay full price) that I've been debating buying for months now.

 I can't wait for them to arrive!

Have a great Saturday!

- Caitlin