About six years ago I found a junky table at a flea market. Its the kind of table (think small coffee table or end table) that has two leaves on either side that fold down or can be lifted up. If you want to keep the sides up you simply pull out two wooden "hinges".
Anyways, I bought the table but one of the hinges was broken - so I dropped it off with my Poppa (Grandpa). He managed to seamlessly put the hinge back together. He was an amazing woodworker - the man could have made anything with his hands.
Two years ago my Poppa passed away after a very short battle with melanoma. To this day I still have that table - I cant imagine ever getting rid of it. I sell furniture like crazy - things coming and going all the time, but that table will always be mine.
So when I thought of Handmade Christmas, I thought of the table my Poppa fixed for me and how much it means to me. I wanted that for our Christmas - gifts that weren't perfect for us at the time and then forgotten about a year or two later - but gifts that we really cherished.
My dad and brother did just that - they built me an awesome table out of old barn wood that my mom found on craigslist.
To be honest my mom did most of the really hard work - ie sanding. She also found the plans for the table and took a lot of time putting thought into what I would enjoy.
According to my mom the plans are from Ana White - and I just LOVE it. My dad and brother built two benches but since it is currently in my dining room I only use one bench and two of my chairs from before. The other bench is cutely decorated in my entry way (Ill show you that later this week)
After getting the table home I went and picked up a Gel stain and got to work (thanks mom for the help!)
The stain color was a big decision for me. I wanted it to tie into my wood floors but not be too dark to loose the beauty of the old wood. I am still getting used to the richness of the color (considering I went from a very light violet table to this) but I really do love it!
I sealed the tops of the benches and table with Waterlox (same thing I send for my butcher block countertops)
The top of the table easily lifts off if I ever need to move it. I love how versatile it could be - build a bigger top for the same base, add a cement/stainless top to the current base, add a metal base to the current top - this will definitely be a piece I keep forever!
So there you have it - a Handmade Christmas gift I will FOREVER cherish.
Did anyone else do handmade for christmas?
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