Squatch Lodge Creations: Farmhouse Table
If you remember from my last post about Curtis’ woodworking projects [featuring our coffee table and bed frame!] I mentioned briefly at the end that he was currently working on a table. Well, he is now finished and I just had to take a break from talking about adventures to share what is one of my new favorite things! He did an AMAZING job and I just can’t stop looking at this beautiful piece of furniture. I guess part of the reason for that is that this thing is also HUGE! Haha.
It took Curtis just under a month to finish up our farmhouse table. (If you want to see the day-to-day progress as he worked, follow @squatchis on Instagram and search #grandistable) The base was made out of grandis – a wood neither of us had ever heard of, but we LOVE the pinkish color when finished with polyurethane. We had debated using maple, cherry, and walnut, but after sitting down in the aisle, discussing, and just picturing what we thought would look best in a variety of living situations, we decided we wanted something lighter in color, but not white-ish. This took walnut off the table (which was also good because that would have been the most expensive!) and while I love cherry stained furniture, when I looked at the sample of the cherry with polyurethane, I didn’t like how I was picturing it as a table. However, as we looked at the maple, we considered how we’re more likely to be renting homes for a while, and the walls in rented homes or apartments are typically white. To me, having a maple table would blend in too much to a white wall and leave a bland room. And then there was this pinkish wood sitting right in front of us, a kind we had never heard of, but we realized it was exactly what we needed. And that’s how #grandistable came to be!
After Curtis had finished building the strong, sturdy base, we started considering table tops. We knew we wanted a butcher block table top; however, Curtis was running out of time to work on this, and lacked a sufficient amount of clamps he’d need to hold it all together. We started exploring other options, and in that search we came across Lumber Liquidators, a retail company that primarily sells beautiful hardwood floors, but also carries butcher block counter tops. We found that we could buy 2 8’x25″ countertops and attach them together, and they would make a beautiful table top as well. After thinking on this for another week, Curtis decided that was the best option for us. So now, our table top is made from 2 Hevea butcher block countertops. We finished that with mineral oil, which we learned was best for finishing surfaces that are eaten off of – another benefit with this is that I can also use it as extra counter space for food preparation if we ever find ourselves in a home lacking in counter space.
As you can imagine, our huge farmhouse table with a very sturdy base weighs a TON, so Curtis also made it so that it comes apart easily into 8 pieces to make moving much easier. Once finished, we brought the table inside and decided it was too big for the “dining area” in our home, so we moved it into the living area space where it is the center of attention – just as it deserves. 😉 We’re not sure quite yet what to do with our first table – a cheap Craigslist find from after we first got married – but for now, we are laughing at the fact that we have more tables than chairs. Eventually, Curtis plans to build matching benches, but that will have to wait until he has time!
I’m so excited about this big table and all the memories we’ll share around it. It’s already come in very useful when I was working on a large sewing project (more on that later 😉 ) We’re also excited because a table this big means we can do huge puzzles and still have room to eat! 😀 Most of all, we’re looking forward to the meals we’ll share as a family, and ones we’ll host with friends or family around it. (And thankfully we don’t have to wait long for that, because we have visitors coming SOON!!)
