Hiiii y’all! Okay, so I am honestly freaking out, just a little, to finally be able to share with you my biggest build so far…and when I say so far, I mean, I have built a planter box and an herb garden shelf. Yep, you could say I am new to this wood working thing, but as soon as I touched my first saw, I knew I’d found what I was searching for. And thank you guys for being a part of the ride!
So I am a huge Instagram fanatic…I love the “small” community it allows you to be a part of. So far, everyone is super friendly, helpful and encouraging. I’ve never seen anything like it. Whether you are an Instagram-er or not, I’m sure you have heard of the ladies from Shanty2Chic and the wonderful Ana White? If not, are you nuts????? Just kidding, it happens, but I am more than happy to introduce you. Head over to their blogs and Instagram feeds and go crazy! Click on those little links there and get ready to have your building life rocked! They each have so many amazing builds that you, yep, YOU can do, no matter your skill level. Give it a shot, you will be shocked, as I still am.
I searched for a long time to find the perfect farmhouse table that spoke to me and when I found this one, it pretty much screamed in my face and I knew, I had to have it. I was incredibly intimidated because it looked so much more intricate than your basic farmhouse table, but seriously, it was just the right amount of challenge that I was looking for. You can build this table! These awesome gals came together to create this amazing, rustic, farmhouse table. See their plans here and here. They both have fantastic, step by step, instructions to build by.
I will share with you some pictures of my table during it’s construction and share a few things I learned along the way.
First of all, can you believe it all started like this? Okay, well technically, I guess it started from a tree, but you get my drift…
I like to make all of my cuts first, since I operate in a very tiny section of our barn. This really isn’t the best way to work on big projects, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! The jigsaw was the hardest part of this project, because I’ve never used one, but don’t be intimidated, even if your cuts aren’t perfect, you can’t tell once it’s constructed! And there is something called a sander, hallelujah! Annnnd, I won’t tell if you don’t! 🙂
Here are my assembled legs. Well, kind of…they still need their top, decorative arches. Those clamps are life savers, I need about 5 million more!
Okay, let’s talk about the top of the table. I learned a valuable lesson here. Use your handy, dandy Kreg Jig and build the middle section of your table BEFORE the frame!!! This would have saved me some valuable time. Live and learn, I suppose. For whatever reason, the measurements of my completed Kreg Jig’d boards did not match the plans so I had to cut about 1/8″ off of my assembled section. So, assemble and measure before you build your frame! I know guys, duh…I’m learning, alright!
You also get to see a sneak peak of my stain in the picture below. I’m so picky when it comes to my finishes, and this one was no exception. I wanted the driftwood grey look without being way too grey, does that make sense? I searched all of our home improvement stores in the area, and just couldn’t find “the one”. So, I had to improvise. I bought a Minwax, Classic Grey and thought I was going to have to calm down and just settle with what I had, when I remembered that my favorite, rustic Dark Walnut, Rustoleum stain was hanging out in my craft closet! Cue the lightbulb / ding effect! Mix them!! So I did. I started with a jug of the Classic Grey and, very slowly, added the Rustoleum, Dark Walnut to it. I kept trying the mixture on a scratch piece of pine until I found the absolute perfect combination, for me. The main thing to remember here is, make enough for your entire piece. You don’t want to run out and have to guess at your measurements!
We are getting so much closer…eeeek…are you excited?? Anyhow, for the assembly of this large and in charge 9 foot table, I recommend bringing it into the room of your choosing in pieces. Bring in the legs and then the table top, unassembled, and save your back, for goodness sake! Then you can measure, align and assemble everything right where you want it.
Just look at those legs! Hubba Hubba, am I right?? Okay, here are a few pics of my finished product. The last one is from our Thanksgiving. We get to host both of our families for Thanksgiving, which is one of my favorite holidays because it is truly all about being together and recognizing the things that you should be grateful for everyday. It’s always good for the heart and soul when you can reflect on all the positive things life offers, don’t you think? Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my building process and I hope you will try it for yourself! Ohhh, and I also made the cute, little box adorning the top of the table and stained it to match. Sure, it looks like a standard wooden box, but wait until I flip it over…another post about that coming soon!