A DIY STORY: MY DINING TABLE

My dining table is officially finished and sitting in my dining space.

And I absolutely love it!

This is my first “from scratch” DIY wood project.  Pieces of furniture have been refinished and repurposed, but starting with a length of wood and ending up with a finished product?  This is my beginning.

Much has been learned!  The biggest lesson is that I still have a lot to learn.  Wood definitely has a “movement” about it that I did not expect.  I thought that when you cut a piece of wood, it stayed just as you want it, when in reality it likes to bend and twist and shrink up.  Which, of course, makes for a challenge.

Lucky for me, I have an amazing and patient teacher!  And he didn’t even bat an eye when I stepped forward and stained the table top without asking if it was time yet.  And it turned out that the time had not been reached yet, and I had to resand and restain the entire piece.

But the table is done and it’s being used daily.

For an entire month our dinners have been eaten at the kitchen counter or on the (brand-new!) couch.  So, our first dinner at the dining table was exciting.  It seemed so “real” and “right”.

What can I say? I have a thing for tradition.

I love the thought that dinners (and breakfasts and lunches) will be shared at this dining table with family and friends for years to come.  Stories will be told, laughs will be shared and memories made.  Family dinners have always been a priority to me, and even though the number of people in my house has shrunk, the importance is still the same.

As it will always be.

The people that I love, eating good food and feeling loved.

That’s what life is all about!

***The free cut list and tutorial for this table can be found here.