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Saturday, December 21, 2013

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

5 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! Want to make a table for is too ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE your table! Would you mind posting your finished dimensions?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It's roughly 88 in long x 40 in wide x 30 tall

      Delete
  3. What type of wood did you use? Pine?

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate all of your comments! If you have a question, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.