This is a project I actually worked on for my brother and sister-in-law about 4 months ago while I was visiting my family in Alabama for Christmas and literally put the finishing touches on minutes before I left for the airport so it did not get a proper photo shoot. Well, I'm finally back in Sweet Home Alabama for Easter and decided to finally put together a tutorial for this amazing (and so, so simple) Farm Table.
Around the end of December my older brother and his wife were looking for a rustic dinner table to go in their new home. They hadn't found anything within their price range that they loved so I suggested a makeshift Farm Table. Basically, you build a Farm Table Top onto a table using boards from your local hardware store.
Would you believe this cost no more than $100?! I found this really great tutorial from
Monica and her husband at East Coast Creative Blog that I used as a guideline. I would definitely recommend a thorough reading. They include much more thorough instructions than I will.
It's not a true Farm Table, but its a pretty darn good (and cheap!) impersonation. Here is how I went about it:
 |
| The happy couple. Still not 100% sure how my brother scored this amazing lady, but I sure am glad he did. |
 |
| The Newlywed's new home. Totes adorbs, amiright?! |
1) Find a cheap, sturdy table with legs you love and refinish to your liking. I found this one at a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $20. Ow, ow. Look at those legs!
2) Figure out what dimensions you want and your board placement. For Adam + Emily's table I decided to make it 6 feet long and 3.5 feet wide. For the board placement I chose to have 2 boards going the opposite direction on each end (These are completely optional. Many people choose to do 5 long boards with no butts on the end. In fact, its much easier to do. I just happen to prefer the look) as well as making the long board in the middle wider than the other 4. In total I bought 6 boards and 5 1x1s.
3) Cut boards to your measurement.
4) Attach about 5 1x1 boards cut slightly shorter than your decided width for the table top. My original table was 5 ft long so I used 5 1x1 spaced equally apart. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of this step, but Monica and her husband included pictures in their tutorial if you need a visual. Make sure to buy screws long enough to go through the boards and into the table.
4) Sand, sand, sand the edges to round them out. You want to make these boards look salvaged with lots of wear and tear. See below.
5) Take any random objects you can find to bang into the wood for character. I ended up using a couple different hammer heads, a phillips head screwdriver, nails, and a paint can opener. Don't forget to bang the edges and corners with your hammer to get a more rounded look on top of the sanding!
6) Sand again to get the wood buttery smooth.
7) Stain boards to your liking. Let them dry completely before moving on.
 |
| Random objects I grabbed to beat up the wood. |
8) Attach board to the 1x1s FROM UNDER the table. You don't want to see the screw heads on your tabletop. Again, be sure you get screws that are long enough to through the table, 1x1, and into the boards on top, but NOT THROUGH the boards.
9) Apply a lip of 1x1s to cover up the structure on top of table.
10) Apply protective coat to top. I prefer Tung Oil as it it protects the wood from the inside out rather than poly which sits on top of the wood. Its a bit more time consuming, but totally worth it.
11) Instagram immediately - duh. Invite people over, make a stellar dinner, let people marvel at what a master wood craftsman you are, sleep on it, dance on it, whatever you do to celebrate this amazing accomplishment.
 |
| My Dad was a big help to me with my first construction project! |
 |
| Looks like he is hugging the table, but in actuality I wasn't quite strong enough so my brother held the boards down while my Dad screwed them in from the bottom up. |
As you can see from below the boards won't sit perfectly and there may even be gaps between them, but I loved that! If it were real salvaged wood the same thing would happen. The more imperfections, the more character. I have never been accused of being a perfectionist.
Now, take a look at the finished product in their house!
___________________________________________________
 |
| Emily chose to pair the table with these fabulous gray, canvas chairs. |
 |
| My favorite photo from the shoot. SWOON. |
I don't know about other places, but in The South the dinner table is the heartbeat of the house. Its where the family gathers, eats, shares, and laughs through the years. Honored to have been able to make this special piece for my brother and his wife and their first little one :)
Playing in the Background:
- I honestly cannot remember from 4 months ago... Maybe Melpo Mene? I think was obsessed with the song, "Ain't Gonna Die Sitting Down" during the holidays.
