rome wasn't built in a day... but my table was!

You may remember this table from a week or so ago... 

This was a 20$ find that we knew could be transformed into something awesome. 

Ryan has been wanting to build me  us a farmhouse table for our huge porch. He has been looking at numerous plans, but one idea was to take an existing table and remake it. 

So when we saw this 20$ solid wood table we knew it was the one. 

The legs alone are worth 40$

(have you priced table legs recently?! The cheapest are 10$/pop!)

So yesterday while I was at work he started the process of making a new table. 

I got this text at one point and my heart got so happy! 

All of the cuts were on our miter saw at a 45* angle...
I think it was pretty simple. (but what do I know!)

He cut the pieces, lined them up from the very center of the table and nailed it into the old table top. 

This is one side finished... 

Then I got a text... both sides done! 

I must tell you though, ripping apart pallets is far harder than anyone on pinterest ever let on. 

So.... we had to buy some wood. Thus the wood on the left side looking like new wood. 

Have no fear. We solved the "new wood look" problem pretty quickly. 

Thanks to Hillary over at The Friendly Home (check out this blog post )we learned all about oxidizing wood and the cool chemical reaction that happens when you soak steel wool in vinegar. 

When you paint/stain the vinegar on the wood it creates the grey color of worn, beat up pallet wood! 

The hammer and sander were from me beating up the 'new' wood. I had lots of fun beating up the wood. 

Back to the wood though... you can see in the next post the wood starting to change colors... 

(eye spy two puppy dogs) 

Ok... so I said the table was built in a day... but it was more like an afternoon and a morning. 

We started today by using a circular saw to trim up the edge to make sure all the boards on the edge were in a straight line. 

((Note below... this is the wood after sitting overnight. Notice how grey and dark it got! So cool!!))

The last step was cutting, staining and nailing on the trim. 

We had a wider board on the end of the table at first, but we removed it and added this smaller piece. We are tossing around the ideas to add a small leaf on either side to allow for the table to expand some more--- but for now its just fine. 

Somehow I missed taking a picture of the trim. We ended up putting a piece of 1x2 on the two long sides to give the table  a finished look. You can see what I mean below... 

You can really see how dark some of the pieces of wood got with our chemical stain. A few boards stained with a darker stain to give it a little character. We also have put one coat of shellac on the table to weatherproof it. It still needs a few more. 

As you can see the table is a perfect size. We will be able to have 6 people around it no problem.... 

Or just the two of us. 

I am still contemplating what to do with the table legs. I really want to paint them a distressed white.... but I haven't decided yet. 

I love this table. I can't wait to have many dinners out here. Play games around the table. Sit out here really late at night. Read back here. Write blog posts. 

really just SPEND LOTS OF TIME HERE. 

I cant wait. 

T-minus 6 days until we move!