Impersonating

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!

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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.

Gilding

Four things I love: 

-gray

-metallic

-triangles

-pizza (bacon + jalapeño pizza all day, everyday). 

One of these loves was not incorporated into this side table (though if you think of a classy way to incorporate pizza into a piece please let me know ASAP!). I have wanted to try this ombre, metallic, triangle design (much like a Dandelion) on one of my pieces for a while and when I found this side table for $5 at a local thrift store I knew it would be the perfect guinea pig. She was totally solid, had beautiful lines, and while the green wasn't terrible the haphazard glaze job over the green was no bueno.

I painted the inside cubby a slightly lighter shade of gray to add a bit of depth, kept that fabulous handle, and created my own triangle sponge out of a sanding block. When I sponged on the first few triangles I had some serious doubts, but I decided to keep at it and I really love the way it came together. Say hello to Dani!

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Playing in the background:

• I was watching Drew Barrymore's, Ever After. Other than Anastasia, this may be the movie I can quote best. "A bird may love a fish, signore, but where will they live?!" Where, indeed...

Branching

Spring has officially sprung in The District! This means its time to bring out my fluorescently pale legs (shaving regularly), buying the SPF in bulk, Middle School tourists crowding the Metro, mowing the lawn, and no longer being able to use the cold as an excuse not to exercise. I'm beginning to realize Spring may not be my favorite season...

Give a warm welcome to Olive! Olive was a lucky find when my friend gave me first pickings before their upcoming estate sale. As you can see from the pictures below I had to strip the stain before painting. Unfortunately, I didn't figure this out until after my first coat of paint which promptly turned a brownish, yellow, green, blue. *Note to self: test out a small area before cockily painting an entire piece and having to strip all the hard work you've done.

One of my favorite furniture bloggers, Reeves at The Weathered Door, did an amazing video on stripping furniture if you need a quick tutorial! Check it out below.

Once I stripped the stain off I decided to put a protective coat over the wood in case there was any residual stain just waiting to yellow my paint job. I also wanted to ensure that I had a bit of chipping because why milk paint if you don't chip?! Olive is painted in Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint color, Mora. She is a gorgeous light blue with undertones of gray and green. 

Consider this my olive branch to Spring.

Playing in the Background:

• Jamestown Revival, Utah...  yes, still. Loving this album.
• Serenda Ryder, Harmony

Mapping

"Though she be but little, she is fierce." - Shakespeare

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Betty. The name Betty brings to mind a classic girl next door from the 60's who defies tradition to see the world à la Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. I think we all have a little Betty in us. I know I certainly do. There are few things I love more than jet setting to a new destination. 

Though this shelf has a classic mid-century shape I wanted to do something a little unconventional and I'd been eyeing this Cavallini paper from Paper Source for quite a while. I taped off the bottom of the legs, gave her a couple coats of this fabulous mint green, and mod podged the pages and map on the back. Because the map was noticeably smaller than the backboard I simply grabbed a few pages from my favorite illustrated vintage dictionary to go around the edges as a border and ended up really digging the look. 

I love when hiccups turn into happy accidents.

I don't know why I worry so much when things don't work out like I'd originally planned.
I think the dictionary pages bordering the map are such an interesting contrast.

Is there anything cozier than a stack of vintage books?!

Playing in the background:

• Jamestown Revival, Utah
• Børns, Candy

Romancing

In honor of Valentine's Day looming around the corner I bring you, Ada. She feels like the furniture equivalent of a sweeping Southern Romance and what better Southern Romance than Ada Monroe and Inman's from Cold Mountain? I'm sure 99% (more like 100%) of people think that answer is unequivocally Gone with the Wind, but I would argue the merits of Cold Mountain over Gone with the Wind. 

I found this piece at a local thrift store and it was love at first sight (you can find us hanging out watching Cold Mountain together on Valentine's Day). I knew immediately that she would be green and she would be chippy. I used Old Fashioned Milk Paint in Tavern Green. The chipping didn't go quite as I had hoped, but the variations in pigment completely made up for that! To get that rustic look I was going for I just used a sanding block to wear through the paint in certain spots. I found this great striped, modern paper at Home Goods that I used to line the drawers. Its a perfect juxtaposition with the rustic, undone look of the exterior. 

I planned on a quick flip and sell, but love is a fickle thing and I'm thinking I may not be able to part with this Southern Belle...

I mean, look at the variations in color! Add that to my Swoon List.

Playing in the Background:

• The Lone Bellow's new album, Then Came the Morning. Listen on NPR here!
• Lindi Ortega

Hacking

I'm late to the game, but I'd seen a lot of these "Ikea Hacks" floating around Pinterest and the Blogosphere so I decided to try my hand at a simple redesign of one of their unfinished pieces in the Tarva collection. You simply buy an Ikea piece and customize it until it does not resemble something from Ikea. Easy enough, right?

In a perfect world I would tell you how incredibly easy this redesign was, but alas, we do not live in a perfect world and you should know that I was nearly defeated by this seemingly simple piece. It took me FOUR hours to assemble. FOUR! Not my proudest four hours. Not to mention its still not 100% solid, but it will do very nicely as my new side table.

I'd like to introduce you to, Mitchell. Sentimentally named for a couple of people who believe and invest in my dreams. Cue the warm fuzzies.

I've really been loving stained pieces over painted lately. I wanted to lean into that and channel my inner Restoration Hardware lover with this custom mix stain. Simply apply Minwax "Provincial" first then immediately follow that up with Rustoleum's "Weathered Gray" and wipe. You want just the faintest suggestion of gray to achieve this look so wipe quickly!

I'm in LOVE with these plates I found at Home Goods and the metallic polka dotted teapot gifted by The Gov.

To give the illusion of salvaged wood I used a hammer and other random objects focusing mainly on the edges and corners. Be warned! This wood is not particularly resilient to repeated hard blows so go easy on her. One of my drawers ended up with a huge split down the middle.

To finish off the look, I chose to use castors in lieu of the legs which came in the box and picked out some fabulous Boho Teal Knobs with the help of my Facebook Followers.

Playing in the Background:

• Taylor Swift's Red and 1989 .... she's my jam!