DIY Dining Room Table

So with future plans of a big family and holiday dinners, we really wanted a dining room table that could accommodate more than 4 people.  (Un)Fortunately the options for 10 foot tables were WAY out of our price range.  With that in mind we decided to put this tutorial to the test and build our own.  Take a look and let us know what you think:

 

Final Cost: $505 (including the cost of some new tools- pocket hole guide, square, level, etc.)

Average Purchase Price of a similar table: $1,000

 

 

Staining and Clear coating the legs after they were cut-

The base of the table top-

Table top with the hard wood flooring glued and nailed into place-

 

The table leaves which take the main table from 6ft to 10ft-

 

After the first pour of clear coat-

 

A ham on the table

 

First coat of clear coat on the leaves-

 

 

The base of the table set up in our dining room-

Centering the table top on the base to secure

 

Close ups-

 

 

In action-

We absolutely love it!  At a 50% savings, I’d say it was a great investment.  The strength and character of this piece makes it so special to us!

Leftovers

After the holiday dinners are over I only have one request.  Can I have the carcass!

 

I acquired 4 turkey carcasses, combined it with all the vegetable “garbage” I’ve frozen throughout the year (onion skins, carrot peels, leaves off of the celery and potato skins) and made 13 quarts and 1 pint of broth, along with a big pot of homemade soup.

 

The treasure after 6 hours of boiling…

 

Skimmed Broth:

Don’t forget to ask for the leftover bones at your next holiday meal!  It’s a great source of FREE food!!

Pumpkins

Back when we picked our pumpkins we worried it was too early.  The plants hadn’t completely died off yet, but we had fears of frost and as a main wedding decoration, we didn’t want to risk losing them.  Now we’re paying the price as many of our pumpkins are already rotting long before they should be.  Luckily we did have a few that were acceptable to carve.

 

 

 

Jon carved the Chicken and I stuck with the W that looks like a muscle man

 

My artistic ability is severely lacking!

 

Did you carve pumpkins for Halloween?