It’s our anniversary week! We will have been married two years on September 29th and I love celebrating anything and everything so we are starting this weekend! Two years sounds so new, but if we are really counting, we’ve been together a total of 13 years. I will explain that love story in a post later this week.
Right now I want to talk about our reception tables. We had a “rustic vineyard” wedding and it was romantic and gorgeous and I still dream about that day. Our wedding was held on a hilltop overlooking a vineyard, under old oak trees (and yes, it was that lovely, I will be sharing photos on Tuesday!). Our reception was held just steps away in a barn (yep, we jumped on the barn bandwagon of 2018 and I wouldn’t have it any other way). The barn was perfect but when we started looking at renting tables, along with everything else, not only was the cost astronomical but the ‘farm’ tables were so simple. So I got the crazy idea to build our own!
I’ve built several tables and consoles from the plans of the Shanty-2-Chic gals and the amazing Ana White, who all make their plans super simple to follow and when they team up it’s like builder’s gold! I found this DIY Dining Table, fell in love, and built 13. Told ya, crazy. That being said, the build itself is so easy and fun! I love that it’s not your standard ‘farmhouse’ table. Its got just the right amount of detail while still keeping the top a little rustic and simple.
Here is the supply list and plans:
- 12-inch Miter Saw
- Drill gun / impact driver (I’ve used RYOBI ONE+ for years and although not sponsored, would recommend them hands down!)
- Kreg Jig (I’ve used this for almost all of my projects, you can use traditional methods, of course, but Kreg Jig makes it SO EASY)
- Sander and a variety of sand paper
- Wood glue (use it, yes, it makes all the difference)
- Lumber, screws & nails (see plans here and here)
- Stain and poly
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) this will be a short post as I wasn’t blogging when I built these, so I didn’t document each step. I’m going to refer you to the ladies linked above for the details. I will, however, share some of the tips and tricks I learned along the way.
- My main tip is if you’re making more than one table (like 13) make a jig for the legs. A jig is basically a guide to ensure each leg is the same. I made one out of scrap 2x4s. So much easier!
- Measure and cut as you go in case the measurements in the plans need to be adjusted a bit.
- Once one leg is built, build the other on top of it so they are identical.
Here are all of the bases, before we added the tops. I recruited a little help for the sanding and staining portion.
This table is a super easy build that looks like a high-end piece. Don’t be scared, pull out that saw, and go for it! Scroll below for some finished photos of the tables in action during the wedding and Thanksgiving. If you have any questions, I’m here to help!
