Ever since we moved into our house I've always wanted a big farmhouse table that the whole family can sit around during the holidays... and we are finally getting around to it!
I found this great how-to from one of the blogs we follow.
They actually started their table with two existing tables bought from Ikea, and just built on to those.
Our plan started out to use a table in my garage that we just used to put stuff on except we thought that the legs of the existing table would be too small for the overall size of the table, so we went ahead and purchased square legs from Lowes.
Here is a run down of materials that we bought for the project.
Material List:
2x8-6 table top
2x1-4 undertable supports
2x3- 4 table skirt
Square legs- 4
1 box of 3in wood screws
1 box of 1 1/2 kreg jig screws
wood glue
Tools Needed:
Table saw
Sander
Kreg Jig
drill
The wood we used is just inexpensive pine, mainly because I wanted a lot of the character with inexpensive wood ie: the wood knots, dips and dents, just to have the overall "Loved" feel.
We decided that the table needed to be 7ft long and 4ft wide to accommodate the dimensions of the room. We made all the proper cuts first to the table top, the 2x8's and pocket holed each of them about 6ins apart.
* The Kreg Jig was probably the best investment we made since moving into our house. If you are interested in woodworking and were debating purchasing the Kreg Jig...It makes the process so much easier. There is no measuring or biscuits or crazy amounts of wood glue. Just set it to the thickness of your wood and Voila!
With the pocket holes all the screws are hidden, you can choose to fill the holes once your done. They make pre-made fillers all different types of wood or you could use just plain wood filler. It didn't really bother us since all the hole were on the underside of the table.
We attached the apron and 4 legs the same way, we pocket holed the sides (2x3) so it will drill up into the table top and into the sides of the legs. We added a small amount of wood glue along the apron just for some extra support.
We were a little nervous about if it would stand. Believe me when I say we did this trial and error. We had some plans that we followed but everything was a little different, so we did want we could. We added some supports 1x2's across the bottom of the table.
And that was it!
What do you think?!
I was so excited to finally have a table again in our dining room, that I couldn't wait to get it inside and see what it looked like. Loooved it! Plus, my whole house smelled like pine for days!
We decided to go with a stain vs. painting the table. We chose a Distressed Grey from Minwax, and since it was a stain, it was more of a "Wax on, Wax Off" kinda deal.
We applied two coats of stain then added a clean coat on top.
We are just over joyed with the table and so proud that we built it. Hopefully this is something that we can pass down to our kids. I'll have to take a more recent picture of the table, at this current moment it is covered with legos and polly pockets! :)
Xo,
Em
