DIY Farmhouse Dining Table

I am excited to share the most beautiful farmhouse dining table that was handmade by my amazing husband! This DIY farmhouse table is budget-friendly and fairly simple to make, even if you don’t consider yourself very handy with tools.

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The Benefits of Building your own Farmhouse table

My DIY farmhouse table was a couple of years in the making, but I think it was totally worth the wait.

For years I wanted a farmhouse dining table, sometimes called a harvest table, but never really wanted to spend the money. They are usually very expensive—at least the ones I wanted were.

I wanted a rustic dining table that would seat at least eight and of course the bigger the table the more expensive. Shipping is a factor as well because farmhouse dining tables are typically solid wood and one big piece of furniture, which makes them very costly to ship. Not only are the tables expensive, but purchasing entire dining room sets with the table and chairs can be really pricey.

I finally decided I had to get my husband on board with building one to save money. Plus, it would be something handmade by him that I can cherish forever! It took about a year of convincing, but he eventually caved after he realized it was a great way to save money.

Picking which DIY farmhouse table to build

After months of searching Pinterest for farmhouse tables, I found the perfect one from Dear Lillie. I absolutely love the look of her table and the décor in her dining room. She also gives excellent directions on the stain she used and how she applied it to the table.

The building plans are from Ana White and are very precise and easy to follow. This table can be made in different sizes, which was perfect since I wanted a rectangular dining table big enough to seat eight.

Building the farmhouse DINING table

Once my hubby was on board, we had to pick up the supplies which are listed in the building plans. The total cost for the wood and a new saw blade was around $125. We used solid pine for the plank top.

The actual building of the table took a while, but he worked on it over time. Unfortunately, he cut a few boards wrong and had to redo them. The simple plank top was easy to assemble once he completed the frame of the table.

Have I mentioned how amazing he is?! He built our farmhouse table in the garage, so taking his time wasn’t a big deal. However, our garage became quite dusty–especially when he sanded it.

Staining the farmhouse table

After my hubby was finished, we moved our new farmhouse table into the dining room without any stain on it–only the natural finish of the wood. I was really nervous to stain it because I didn’t want to mess it up.

Several months later, I finally stained our dining room table (I told you this project was years in the making!). Since our table was sitting there without any stain to protect it, I bought a waterproof tablecloth to cover it. It worked perfectly!

The directions from Dear Lillie uses two stains:  Rustoleum’s Weathered Gray and Minwax’s Provincial. Since I love the look of her table, I chose the same color combination. I love the rustic charm vibe the color combination created.

The instructions say to wipe one color on and then the other using a soft cloth. I did this, but the color of my table didn’t turn out quite like hers. However, I actually love the final look of my new farmhouse dining table. I love how the natural wood grain really pops with the stain combination I used. It also gives the table the rustic finish I was hoping for.

Finding Farmhouse Dining chairs

Once we got the table stained, the hunt was on for chairs. This, again, was a several-month process. I really couldn’t decide what kind of chairs. Originally, I wanted fabric chairs like the ones Dear Lillie has in her dining room, but my husband didn’t want fabric chairs. I think fabric chairs give the table a more modern farmhouse look, and we were going for a more rustic look.

My husband offered to build wood benches to match the table, but I am not a fan of benches for kitchen tables or dining room tables. It is a hassle sliding in and out of the bench.

After months of searching for chairs, I came across these gorgeous bistro chairs from World Market. They are not great quality, but they match almost perfectly and look amazing with our farmhouse-style table.

These bistro chairs also look good with my white farmhouse table for two in my blog post on Painting Furniture White. So even if you want to stain your table a different color than I did, these chairs would look great.

The rest of the Farmhouse dining AREA

In our dining room, we have a handmade bar cabinet that looks fantastic with my handmade farmhouse table. I picked up the bar cabinet at an antique market called Third Sunday Market in Bloomington, Illinois. You can check out all of my other favorite finds from my Third Sunday Market blog post.

The DIY farmhouse dining table and the gorgeous bar cabinet give the dining room farmhouse charm which makes the perfect setting for dinner parties and family dinners. I love the modern farmhouse style of this entire space.

As part of the farmhouse dining room upgrade, I painted the walls with Farrow & Ball Elephant’s Breath. I chose this color because it’s neutral, and I think neutral tones go with everything. Since the wall color is neutral, I felt like our dining space needed a pop of color so I chose a sheer light blue curtain that I picked up at TJ Maxx.

Table Settings

I love to create tablescapes for various occasions. This table is so versatile it’s easy to create a variety of styles. Table settings can range from rustic elegance for a dinner party to a casual look for family meals.

Here are some farmhouse décor ideas for decorating your table:

• Mother’s Day Table Décor Ideas
• Pumpkin Tablescape
• Simple Thanksgiving Tablescape
• Farmhouse Spring Décor Ideas

Love the table

I absolutely LOVE my DIY farmhouse table, but what I love most is that my husband made it for me! It looks handmade, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I will definitely cherish this table and my husband’s hard work forever!

xoxo,
Molly