My new farm style table w/mismatched chairs!

So this was my table long ago…When we bought this house almost 9 years ago, we bought mostly all new furniture and everything was black.  Slowly i started figuring out my style and doing things to my space to change it up so it would better reflect how i wanted my space to look.  One of those things was giving this big black table a makeover.

I liked spaces that were light and bright.  The black counter height table was heavy and dark and wasn’t the look i liked anymore.  So i changed it.

I wanted more of a farmhouse look, so i painted the table white and replaced the top with a new top made from new lumber.  While it made the table so much better and my space so much brighter and more my current style – it was still a counter height table.  I learned that i hate counter height tables!  They are trendy and thats been the thing for a while – but i hate them.  They are impractical and a pain to use.  Plus i feel like it took up a lot of visual space.

*To see my post of how i did the new top – go here*

I decided that i wanted a regular height table back in May and sold my table.  I had somewhat of a plan of what i wanted, but didnt know for sure and went back and forth for months on what i wanted to do.  I couldnt decide between a tressle style table, all stained, all painted, farmhouse table…then what kind of chairs?  I even bought a farm style table from my friend along with 8 matching chairs and painted that and brought it in – but it was way too small.  I finally made up my mind, after looking at tons of inspiration pics online (google image is my total BFF) – that i wanted a long farm table, reclaimed wood top, and mismatched – multicolored chairs.  Then i finally got to it!  I wanted this table done before the holidays – i’ve been tableless since May and it was time to get’er done

This is what i ended up with…my style has changed and evolved tons since we bought this house and i think its finally just how i want it.  Of course there are still lots of projects i want to do – but i think i finally have it right  I love mostly white background and then lots of color – soft, pastel colors.  My heart goes all pitter patter over mismatched fabrics, worn out furniture, anything patchwork, pieces that have been loved, chippy paint – things that have a story.  I want my house, even though its fairly new, to look like it has a story to tell

**These pics are not the greatest – its cold and yucky here and no sun, i will take better pics when i post about my other kitchen projects!**

Building the table was pretty easy.  My daughter and i worked on it for a full day pretty much.  We went to the shop in the morning to build and paint it, then came home and put it together.  And because of facebook, i know the questions that will get asked the most, so its easier for me to # everything and go down the list!

1.  Size of the table.  I wanted my table to comfortably sit 3 chairs on each side.  I placed 3 chairs on the floor and measured from there – this was the easiest way for me to see the size i wanted – i need to see it laid out!  My table ended up being 8 ft long and about 3 1/2 ft wide.  It can comfortably sit 8, but we can get 12 there if we needed to.  And i was so happy that the table ended up fitting my rug perfectly – i love that rug and didnt want to buy a new one!
2. Legs were purchased new from Osborne Wood.  When i looked at antique farm tables online, i was drawn to the ones with a bit slimmer legs and a wider table skirt.  I wanted my table to look more authentic, so i went with the slimmer leg.  I purchased the cheapest option as i knew i would just be painting them and didnt care what kind of wood it was.
3. The top is actual reclaimed barn wood.  I got this off our local classifieds.  I paid about $140 for 5 11ft long pieces.  The wood came from an old barn roof so it was somewhat protected from the elements.  It worked out perfect because the wood wasnt all dried out and porous and it was fairly smooth.  The wood was also very straight and not warped at all – even the sides were  pretty straight and nothing had to be planed.
4. Chairs were collected here and there – one is new, the rest are vintage and antique.

Building

I started with my table legs, wood for the top and 3 8ft sections of 6 in pine (not pictured.

I cut my top to length and laid it out on the ground.  We measured in from the sides/top and figured out how much of an overhang we wanted – this is just personal preference on how much you want.  I actually made my table wider, but when i got home and got it all put together, the overhang was a little too much so i cut down one of my boards.  I did purposely leave a longer overhang on the ends as i wanted to add little corbels for some character.

After the sides and ends were all cut, i cut 2 cross beams from 2×4’s.  This will give me something to attach the wood top too and will make the table even more sturdy.  I also cut a corner piece for each leg.  The corner pieces ends are just 45 degree angles.  Its very important to have the corner pieces – it ties everything together and makes it very stable.

Then, to attach all my pieces together, i used my Kreg Jig to make pocket hole joints.  If you build anything, then you have to get this tool!  I cant even tell you how much i use this thing and its so so easy to use!

All the circles are where i made my pocket holes.  Ends where legs meet the skirt, corner brackets, 2×4 braces to attach to the skirt and then on the ends to attach the top.

After my table was all built, we got started staining!  I wanted dark wood to show through when my paint chipped, so i stained them in Ash by Varathane.  When the stain was pretty much dry, i gave them 3 quick coats of Rustoleum Lacquer.  If i didnt seal in the raw wood, my milk paint wouldnt chip.  The lacquer worked perfect to get my paint nice and chippy

I put that girl to work!!  She really was so helpful

I didnt take a pic of the painting part, but we used Flour Sack – Sweet Pickins Milk of course!  Flour Sack is the brightest of the whites and worked perfect against the dark stained wood.  I painted on 2 coats of paint – no Extra Bond used.  See how chippy it went!

For the top – i got lucky and my reclaimed wood was straight, not warped at all and didnt need any planing.  The wood was fairly smooth already, so i just took my orbital sander to it with 120 grit and gave it a light sand.  I didnt take any pics of that part – but this is the wood after.  You can see from the test piece on the side, that i did test out a few different stains, but i ended up leaving the wood natural and am so glad i did!  The wood has so much character – i think all the black spots are oil or tar left behind from whatever was covering it.  It has the old nail holes and the old saw blade marks – its amazing!!

After getting the table all built, sanded, and painted – we loaded it all up in the truck and came home to assemble it!  The paint was dry by the time we got home, so i gave it all a good sanding to get off the chipped paint.

I didnt take much pics of the actual building part – i was just too excited to get this done!  It was also late and i was tired  I did snap this pic – Zailee always writes a little story on all of our projects that we do together – too cute!

We attached everything together with screws.  I used wood glue for everything.  After my base was all assembled, i just laid down the top and attached that from up underneath.  My attaching the top to the center 2×4’s and then with the pocket holes at the ends, its very secure.

After my table was all built, i sealed the top with 3 or 4 coats of Varathane Floor Finish that was left over from my shop floors.  This went on really easy and dries to a hard durable finish.  The top was a bit shiny, so i just used some fine grit sand paper and dulled it down a little when it was dry.

Then came the worst part of all – the chairs…ughhh!!  Chairs are the worst to paint!!!  I painted them with all of our pastelish colors of Sweet Pickins Milk Paint. I used Sweetie Jane, Patina, Oh Olive!, Tickled Pink and Love Bug.  The coral chair was already painted, the light yellow is original paint and the shorter white one has the original paint as well – i still may paint that chair.

I had a day of watching netflix and painting chairs – fun times

And done!  I still need to wax my chairs – i think i will take one a day and do that

The top came out so pretty!!  Its so smooth and perfect and has so much character – i love that tiny little patch of paint on the side!  The clear Varathane brought out at all the character of the wood.

You can see from this pic, that there are some small gaps inbetween the boards – but its not supposed to be perfect

Oh – and one of my most favorite parts!!  How sweet are these little corbels at the end – perfect finishing touch!  I found these at Home Depot.

I think thats it!  I hope i covered it all.  Overall its a fairly simple build and if you have basic building skills then it should be pretty easy – just adjust the measurements and style to whatever suits you.  The kreg jig is perfect for things like this – so i would definitely recommend that, it makes it so much easier to put it all together.

And if you noticed in my pics, i have also planked that back wall and ripped out a cabinet and put in open shelving – i will be back with those posts!