OK, so I never really needed a dining table in small apartments, since I was just content with eating with a plate on my lap, or on the coffee table in front of the TV.
Now that I live in a large enough space, and actually have friends/family visiting often, a dining table is a necessity for get togethers.
I. LOVE. WORLD MARKET. I went shopping there a while ago for some home decor (and inspiration), and I saw this lovely farmhouse style table, called the Provence Dining Table.
I could live without the bulky legs, but the length and color/finish was just what I was looking for. Alas, as I reached to take a look at the price tag I found: A whopping $529.99.
Yep, you guessed it, DIY. I scoured the Internet for table designs, plans, instructions, blogs, and I found these two that I instantly fell in love with, and whats best, the tutorial seemed simple enough:
Inspiration #1: ApartmentTherapy.com
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| I loved the table legs, I found out that you can purchase them from IKEA for $60 (for a pair). |
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| This is EXACTLY the type of color I was looking for. The author mentioned in her tutorial that she used a driftwood stain, so I will be exploring those color options at Home Depot. I decided to combine the two things I loved from DIY examples I found....so let's get started with my version of building a basic dining table. |
My DIY Checklist:
- Table Legs
- Wooden boards for table top
- Other pieces of wood to use as the table braces
- Wood screws
- Dowels (I decided to add this, as I read in other tuts that dowels can help with stability and alignment of the wooden planks)
- Wood glue or adhesive (I used Liquid Nails that I had for another project)
- Power drill
- Sandpaper
- Driftwood color stain (or paint)
- Paint brushes and rags
Step 1
Take your wood boards and mark where you want to insert the dowels in even increments. I did a set of 3, in hindsight, I could have done 4.
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| Home Depot - 5.5FT/$10EA There were cheaper options but I liked the thickness and knots in these pieces of wood. Also, I did not have to cut the boards, as they originally came in this length. Hey! Makes my life one step easier. |
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| Home Depot -Dowel Kit - $5 Did not intend to buy this, but it was a great find! I was concerned with accurately measuring the center of every dowel on each plank, but this kit ensured that I made a correct fit. |
Step 2
Find a drill bit (or use the one in a kit) that is the same width of the dowel. The depth of the dowel hole will be 1/2 the length of the dowel, so that when placed together, the boards will fit flush.
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| Hole drilled 1/2 the length of the dowel on each plank. Thanks to the drill stop included in the dowel kit, the holes were all the same depth. |
Step 3
Before we start gluing, insert the dowels and connect the planks to make sure everything fits nicely.
Step 4
Once everything is fitted/adjusted, disassemble and squeeze glue/adhesive into the holes and reconnect the planks. Let dry (I had to wait 24 hrs).
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| You can get Liquid Nails at almost any home inprovement store. I had this handy from a previous project, cost is around $3. |
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| Insert glue in the dowel holes. If you have excess just wipe it off |
Step 5
Measure the distance between the braces, and make sure you leave some room at the ends for the table legs. Make sure the side you want as the top of the table is facing down.
Step 6
Screw the braces to the table top.
Step 7
Install table legs
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| Important! Make sure the screws in the leg installation kit are not too long for the thickness of the table. I made this mistake and drilled right through my table. Luckily, I had some short screws that I was able to use, but I had to fill in my holes (I just used the liquid nails) and sand the area very well to hide my boo boo. |
Step 8
Flip the table right side up, use sand paper to smooth out any rough edges, and lightly sand the surface of the table.
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| Table prepped to stain |
Step 9
Stain the wood with the color of your choice! I used a stain color called "Light Lead" from Home Depot for $3.
Step 10
Let the stain dry- add another coat if you desire (I used 2)
Whoo-hoo! A DIY rustic/modern dining table! Sorry for the poor photo quality - I do not own a real camera, and I doubt I can DIY one of those- that's where I draw the line.
I had most of the items on my checklist on hand, so total cost of this project whipped up to be $98 for the planks, dowels, wood stain, and table legs. I was not extremely frugal on the IKEA legs I chose, but sometimes you gotta go with what you really love! IKEA has a selection of other, cheaper options for table legs you could look into as well. For example, the same style legs (but without the third, "bottom" leg) are $15 a pair. This project could have potentially been $67 - but mind you that I didn't buy everything at once, I purchased my materials as I had the extra cash. Way better than shelling out over a hundred bucks for the same size table at one moment.
I had 4 chairs from an old kitchenette set that I plan to reupholster- but that will be another day!
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