DIY Farmhouse Table

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This post is called a DIY but neither my husband nor I actually built the table. We just painted and stained it. Full table construction credit goes to my bestie Lisa and her husband Ryan Besse. Ryan built this beautiful table for Lisa last year and I just had to have a replica for myself! The top of this farmhouse table is constructed of century old barn wood acquired from Ryan’s family farm house.

I adored similar farm tables from places like Restoration Hardware but was never willing (or had the extra dough) to purchase for $2,000+. Lisa is my friend who originally introduced Pinterest to me – telling me there was this cool new site I just had to sign up for – well before it became second nature for crafters! She ultimately deserves all the credit and inspiration for this project. I even stole her table runner idea and created one for myself. We all have a creative visionary who inspires us. Lisa is mine. If imitation is the ultimate flattery – she deserves a big compliment for this table.

At this point we had applied one coat of stain. We used Minwax Driftwood stain. Picking stain is really a challenge. Looking at the pieces of stained samples in the hardware store can be very misleading. You really need to test the wood you plan to use it on. Since this wood was so old and dry, it really picked up the color differently than a new board might have. Again, Lisa helped me pick this color. 🙂 After three very heavy coats of stain, we applied four coats of poly, sanding between each of them.

My new favorite neutral paint color is Valspar Ancient Stone. It’s a great gray-tan-cream color that goes with anything and looks especially sharp next to stained wood. I will be painting many more items with this color.

Legs and underside of this table were crafted using new wood. We painted a few coats in a satin finish and applied a few coats of Minwax furniture wax. I absolutely love the finish of wax and use it on most of my painted furniture.

I used one of my canvas drop cloths and the Silhouette machine to create this runner. I simply trimmed the end off so I only had to sew a seam on one side (lazy, I know, but sewing shortcuts are few and far between). Then I just used one of those new “stained” Sharpies to fill in the stencil I made for the numbers. Added a few lines at the inch mark and done!

This room is a bit busy since it serves as my dining room, home office, liquor bar, craft room, and also houses our dog cage in the corner. So, the ruler table runner is a good neutral fit.

This is just the first phase in our dining room update. I try to be considerate and make small changes in multiple phases… in order to keep my husband sane. Seriously… But, this red wall color has got to go! (see updated color here)… We were all for making bold color changes in our new house almost 10 years ago. And, this room was no exception… covering 70s paneled walls required a bold change. I’m now thinking of a buttery yellow to complement the red accents… maybe this summer???