I was trying to use the last few spring-itchy weeks of February to get a few projects done around the house. I showed you my (re)painted kitchen countertops. On the other side of the room we now (finally!) have a kitchen table that can fit us! I've been asking my husband to build a simple kitchen table for years and it's here! He was convinced he wouldn't be able to do it and I did that thing I do where I tell him over and over and over that he can until he finally gets so sick of me that he figures it out and does it. He loves me.
I wanted something uber simple. No fancy trestle or geometric legs or mission style or anything. Just a simple farmhouse table that can fit our whole family. The old oval table was getting tight and now that Ben wants to be up at the table, too, there really was no room left.
I love how it turned out. So much. He used pine 1x8 boards for the top and beams for the legs. Is it weird that cheap pine is probably my favorite wood? I love the knots and grooves and the color and the fact that it's not a huge deal if it gets dinged or scraped. We used Minwax "Special Walnut" to stain. We did first try the natural vinegar and steel wool method and the color just wasn't clicking with me. Too intense with the red undertones. It's sealed with three coats of satin polyurethane.
Brian had the boys help him make it for me which meant a lot to him as he has memories of helping his dad build a kitchen table with him when he was younger. There's something deeply human and more meaningful about a kitchen table than being just another piece of furniture, I think. It's the place where we will gather as a family for meals and games and crafts (eek.) and projects and communion. The place that will carry many a memory for these little people of ours. Here's hoping I can remember that when the water is spilling and the noise is overwhelming and the food is found everywhere but the beautiful table.
The legs are much further in than we would have picked but we had to work around the bench. We wanted the tabletop to overlap the bench for the kids so the legs needed to be set in more.
In this one you can see some of the dings and notches and knots :)
It is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Do the beams just slide in and out? I think my husband could totally manage this. It sounds like he is exactly like yours in this regard, just needs that wifely encouragement for our dreams to come true.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The legs are all screwed in and immoveable. I think those braces on either side are so that there was something to screw them into?
DeleteIt is so beautiful! I love it so much.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the specialness of the family kitchen table. I might be inordinately attached to ours. My husband got it for us right when our family grew from one to 2 children. We are up to four kiddos now and so much life has happened around it. We have had to sell or give away a lot of our possessions when we have moved for his work, but I just cant let go of the table. It probably won't last us forever but I am holding on to the end! :)
Thank you! I can't wait to spend time around this one and wear it out with those kind of memories :)
DeleteJust lovely! I am super impressed.
ReplyDeleteit's gorgeous and it fits the space so well!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!! Could we get more info on the building part for the 'building-challenged' over here! ;) Love it!!
ReplyDeleteOoh. I'll see what the builder can give me :)
DeleteOh my, I love the table!! It looks awesome. And I think the idea of benches is perfect for kids...(filing away that idea in my brain if we ever move, since it wouldn't work in our current kitchen)
ReplyDeleteYes, he built the benches last year and they are awesome. So many more bottoms can fit and sweeping is SO much easier! There's a post on them on the "Old House Love" page.
DeleteYour comment that the meal table is special just resonated. Really appreciated seeing the underside pics of the table, I think that's what's making my husband 'hang back' from beginning. Considering all he is capable of building I'm not sure why, actually I'm thinking I might make a table.
ReplyDeleteOur situation is we've long outgrown the 8-10 seater and have butted up another small table to it but we actually want a table that we can add leaves to for when the older boys come home, so we need a table that can go from 10 to 14 seats.
Your table is beautiful, thanks for sharing :-)
I love that idea! There's something awesome about a huge dinner table that has room and is welcome to more. God willing, we may outgrow this one some day :)
DeleteI wish he could make us one! It turned out so well! We need a new table too. We are still using my great grandmothers table made for six :)
ReplyDeleteLove it so much, Mary!
ReplyDeleteBetween the new countertops and table, your kitchen is ready for a magazine spread! So Pretty!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful table! <3
ReplyDeleteLovely!
ReplyDelete