DIY INDUSTRIAL FARMHOUSE TABLE

Sometimes trolling pinterest leads to a false sense of confidence regarding your woodworking and furniture making abilities. 

Other times it finally inspires you to try something you otherwise wouldn't have.

After oogling farmhouse tables on pinterest for eons, last weekend M and I decided to take action. 

There was one small problem- we didn't want to invest TOO much money in one since in a future home, we know we'd want to have a much larger table for entertaining. That being said, our current table wasn't cutting it. 

Here it is again, as a reminder. Lots of crap on it for special effect: 

We actually bartered with the previous owners for this table, and got them to leave it behind. It fit the space well: since we don't have an actual dining room, it's just kind of butted up against the wall. It was fine for the two of us.. or even four people (we'd pull it away from the wall to seat 4 around the table), but any more than that and we were doing a "move all the furniture out of the living room, drag up a folding table, connect the two for one giant table" song and dance. No bueno. 

So, after hearing dozens of bloggers rave about the kreg jig - I decided I was brave enough to con Matt into a weekend project with me. A kreg jig is a small tool that allows you to drill pocket holes in wood. In other words, it's the preferred method to join a bunch of plans of wood together seamlessly from below without any nails showing. At first we discussed just covering our old table with wood to use it as a "form" for the table. I was a bit nervous to build something from scratch. As he was drifting off to sleep he said we should look at salvage yards for a metal base. That got my wheels turning, so as he snoozed.. I scoured pinterest for a game plan. 

Lo and behold I found this!

There were several tutorials on Pinterest on how to build an industrial pipe base table. They were modeled after a West Elm table that runs $2,000. O_O. 

The above pin used a butcher block counter top, but we wanted the look of planked wood. So, after spending some time over coffee sketching out plans and dimensions and calling Home Depot, we were off for supplies. 

The best part about this table was, most of the pipe segments we needed were already pre-cut lengths. This means the only one we had to have cut was the long support pipe that ran the length of the table- which Home Depot cut for us and threaded the end of the pipe for free. Our shopping list for pipe and wood went like this: 

• 5 2x6 planks of wood cut to 30"
• 1 1x3 plank of wood cut to 4 segments of 28" (to brace under the table top for added stability)
• 4 3/4 inch pipe at 8 inches
• 4 3/4 inch pipe at 18 inches
• 8 floor flanges (4 for the feet for support, 4 to go into the bottom of the table to attach the top)
• 4 threaded only pipe connectors (the entire piece was about an inch and a half of just threads to connect the feet to the base) 
• 6 T-connectors
• box of 3 inch screws for pocket holes
• 1.5 inch screws for bottom supports

of course if you don't have stain for the wood, poly, or spray paint for the pipes, you'll need those in your desired color as well. All the pipe we bought was galvanized steel, and I wanted it darker, so we bought Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. Total for all the supplies was just under $200. 

We took the pipes and wood home and began assembling the base. (I should note - the original post called for 18 inch pipe, a connector, and 8 inch pipe to make up the height of the pipe base. We realized that would make it essentially a bar-height table and knocked out the 8 inch pipe- which made it the perfect height!) 

 

Taking out that 8-inch segment meant we needed something threaded to connect the T's at the base the flanges- this is where the small "thread only" connectors came in. 

Our original plan was going to be to attach the tabletop to the base as it was sitting above- in other words, that support brace wouldn't have been seen since it would've sat 2 inches below the tabletop. We realized the feet didn't feel sturdy without some braces, so we flipped the entire thing upside down (you'll see in the finished pic) and it worked wonderfully! 

{sanding the planks}

Before we screwed all the wood together using pocket holes, I beat the wood up a bit with a crowbar and hammer to give it an aged/weathered look.

{you can see the pocket holes above, each one has a screw in it connecting it to its neighbor board}

We also added some cross support underneath in the form of some 1x3 boards cut to 28 inches, so they came just short of the edges of the table. 

Next comes stain and poly. We only did one coat of red mahogony stain, wiped off pretty quick after application, to give us this look. Then comes the test of patience. Dry, light sand, poly.... dry... light sand.. poly. We ended up doing 4 coats of poly since this is going to get a lot of use, so we had to wait a few days to attach it to the base. 

We brought it upstairs for assembly, attached the top to the base, and added some carpet samples underneath the floor flanges to prevent scratching. If it's wrong to admit that I find myself just staring at it, then I don't' want to be right. 

We added about 15 inches in length compared to our old table, which still leaves plenty of room on that wall for it to sit..and only about 3-4 inches of width, which doesn't make much of a difference either in terms of space. 

While we were at it, I picked up some new chair fabric and recovered all the chairs. They were covered in a black felt-like material that held TJ's hair way too well and were gross. Slapped this pretty new fabric over it, and it really all ties together wonderfully.

This project actually got done 2 weekends ago. This past weekend, just in time for hosting Christmas (my real motivation for getting this done when we did!) we made a matching bench for the other side of the table. No more borrowing chairs or dragging inside our patio chairs- the table now comfortably seats 6 (7 in a pinch, since 3 could fit on the bench easily). 

Just wanted to stop in and share. :) 

I also may have an update soon regarding Zipper Merge Asshole and an update to my anticlimactic update: hint, it involves a police lineup. 

HOME TOUR // LIVING ROOM REMIX

Our living room has been through approximately 4 renditions since we moved in. I can't for the life of me find photos of #3 (in which we had a significantly less revolting couch than the slipcovered monstrosity you are about to see- that we eventually sold to Syndal!)

Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?
This is how she looked when we moved in.

 

We lived with the brown for about a year, I'd have to guess, before I realized just how much of our house was painted brown (the exterior, living room, hallway, bathroom, and one guest room) and the brown slowly started to feel like walls of poop closing in on me. 

We painted the walls gray, and for a while the living room looked like this: 

 It wasn't terribly offensive but it wasn't at its best yet. We putzed on other rooms, in the meantime.
(If you're noticing the presence of an additional doorway between photos 1 and 2, that's because there is one. We knocked out the wall/closed up the entryway to the basement in the kitchen to make the kitchen more usable).

We bought and sold a couch somewhere in there, and endured a brief stint with our second IKEA rug, before being handed down M's mom's old living room set- because you don't say no to nailhead trim... EVER. Only problem was I then hated the living room again. The furniture was a dark brown/green/grey color that didn't seem to match with anything.

Then came the wedding in which we were gifted an unholy amount of Target gift cards, and I took it as our opportunity to switch some items out for a little overhaul that made a huge impact. Ready for an after?

Nearly everything in this room is from Target.. and I don't even feel bad about it. Haha. Nate Berkus can do no wrong in my book, and Target has been ON POINT lately.

 (TJ just sat in the hallway as I climbed on things to take pictures with a very concerned 'wtf' face...)

 

Source list:

• Bronze stamped side table 
• Faux-wood veneer side table was also Target but isn't online anymore 
• embroidered floral throw pillow 
• sweater throw pillow
• Other floral-y blue pillow was also Target
• Est. 2013/M/K burlap pillows were an etsy wedding gift
• Rug was also Target (but they only appear to have smaller sizes/runners left in this print)
• Floral chairs were Target a few years ago but they always have similar styles
• Tray/floral centerpiece on the coffee table was also Target, neither are online (same can be said for the magenta floral in the mercury glass on the side table).
• Lamps were Target but I'm not seeing them online (similar more expensive, also pretty obsessed with these mercury glass ones).
• The large black/linen frame, small slatted wood frame, washed out wood frame (far left), 2 stacked 4x4 (PERFECT for instagrams) frame, the 5x5 matted frame (for more dramatic IG's), and the faux-window-pane frame are all Target
• Large canvas is from Agape Moments
• Small canvas is from easy canvas prints
• Small leaf sconce was from Target a few years ago, it was black and came in a 2 pack, I sprayed it out gold (and have yet to find a home for the second sconce.. maybe the master redo)
• Silver mirrored frame on side table was a wedding gift- it's from kate spade
• Entry way mirror was a hand-me-down from my grandma
• Jane Austin print
• Ampersand print
• The rest of the room was pretty much DIY's..
• entry way table
• "Home is where the heart is" canvas
• heart canvas
• burlap flowers
• hanging wine bottle
• Rosette monogrammed "N"
• coffee table

I think that covers all of it!? If I missed something you have a question about let me know. This is easily my favorite room in the house, now...and it was downright magical during Christmas. My plan is to have the master give it a run for its money and I just ordered 2 of these for the bedroom:

Jazzed is an understatement. :-D

And in the spirit of keeping it real, a cat who had a vendetta against the duster...

 

 and the behind the scenes of where all the junk got moved to take these photos. :)

I'm in love...

with my camera. 

Some of you may have seen on social media that my camera came...

annndd then I fell off the face of the earth. 

Just kidding, but I have spent some time tinkering with it, reading blogs, and scaring the crap out of my cat. Turns out it scares him when some large alien like contraption is pointed in his face, whirrs, beeps, and clicks. Although as a result of his confusion, I was able to get some great shots. 

I think I'm going to struggle with not trying to make EVERY photo super artsy, and perfect. 

That being said, I'll share some photos I took of TJ. I sent the first one to Walgreens and when I picked it up (along with an Engagement photo I had printed for a project I did) the guy asked if I had a copyright release for both of them.

New camera, FTW! 

First of all, 

thank you all who left fabulous tips on my first camera post. I've been putzing with it, looking at the manual, and looking at blog posts. So far, I can safely say the "vomit" feeling from making such a big purchase has disappeared totally. 

(also, for unknown reasons the money that had been pulled from my account for the camera, magically REAPPEARED in my checking account after I picked it up. I haven't asked any questions, and I hope it stays there. Also, this is probably why Best Buy is tanking).

Second, 

this camera has reaffirmed one thing for me: I have a VERY sexy cat. Seriously. He's so good looking.

Third, 

I'm obsessed with picmonkey.com. I'd heard the name thrown around before but figured it was enough like Picasa, so 'why bother'.. uhh WRONG. It's like Instagram for real life with bitchin' filters, and I'm in love. 

This weekend, M and I took on a few home projects. We got up and headed to IKEA first thing Saturday morning, and got a new light for the kitchen. After a few hours, some "are we going to burn in our sleep" concerns, it seems to have worked! M was super proud, he's gotten to be quite handy at house stuff but always shied away from electrical (for good reason too.. scary stuff if done wrong!) Now that he's confident, I'm taking advantage and will be getting a chandelier for upstairs in the not so near future ;-) 

also, I took zero photos of that. 

I, on the other hand, was busy makin' pretties..as I call them.

I purchased several frames at IKEA, with the idea to finally make our upstairs feel more homey. So I created a gallery wall to go up the stairs:

I used some engagement photos...

and a little "quote book" Leah got me a while ago..

I created some collages with the quotes..

aannnddd laid it all out like so: 

And this is how it looks, except, on the wall. I took these at night and the lighting up the stairs is garbage so, I knew I wouldn't get a good shot of it in action on the wall. 

I freaking love it. 

I also love that I finally have a "nice" photo of my cat. I feel like it's more socially acceptable to hang photos of pets if they look artsy. 

Lastly, M helped me complete a project I've been wanting to for ages. After seeing a Pinterest pin, I knew I had to recreate it. 

Ta da!

The frame was $8 or so at IKEA,... I printed off an 8x10 of us for $3, I had the wine bottle and fake flowers, and all that was left to purchase was this (at Home Depot):

M pre-drilled a hole, and then drilled through that little hole in the base of the hanger and into the wall. The one we have has a hinge on one side, and then the threaded screw to close it on the other side. SO, if we ever want to change out the wine bottle, all we have to do is unscrew it. 

All in all, it cost me about $13....annnnddd I love it. I'm a big advocate of hanging "different" things on the wall.. I like wall installations (like the one from the upstairs remodel) and things you may not expect to find for visual interest. 

That's all! 

Stay tuned for many more very fancy cat photos in the future. 

Just kidding. kind of.

HOME TOUR // HOLIDAY EDITION

While everyone else posts Thanksgiving recaps,

I'm here to bring you some holiday decor.

I might get around to posting a Thanksgiving recap, but really it just involved a trip to Moorhead Wednesday-Saturday, an impromptu date night at the Bulldog N.E. Saturday night (we had buffalo wings, truffle fries w/parmesean cheese, and bacon scallion cream cheese wontons. I don't even feel bad about it, it was the best meal ever.) 

Whilst up north, there was also LOTS of food, one day involved a lot of turkey, gravy, stuffing and potatoes (I bet you can guess which one!)..another involved knockoff Red Lobster biscuits (BETTER than the RL biscuits, actually) and homemade tortilla soup. Basically I ate my ass off, snuggled with a kitten, and devoured Kelle Hampton's book, Bloom, in a little over a day. It was delightfully relaxing, and I am writing this because I know full well there will never BE a "full" recap post.. partially due to my laziness (and the belief that if I can't get it in by Monday, then..well..what's the point?) aaannndd due to the fact that most my photos are of the cat (Cassie). 

Moving on. We decorated last weekend, because it was freaking awesome to come home after thanksgiving to an already decorated house. And because we didn't have anyone over for Thanksgiving, it's pretty much like it never happened before Thanksgiving..since no one saw it (but us). 

So far, it's been a losing battle of keeping TJ away from the tree, and he's probably been doused in over 32 oz. of water for being a naughty little shit. I foresee this dance lasting until early January. 

Moving on, I've just compiled some collages of before (the photo on the far left, in each collage) and after, where I've decorated. It's not a lot, but, it's perfect to me. :) 

The front entryway table:

 The "faux mantle" (that garland has lights on it.. and I suspect will fall off 2-3 times before Christmas. It's being held up all janky like with electrical tape, which I noticed today had already come undone in the middle once.. aaannnddd I think is ruining the shelf. Oh well. Shelf can always be painted, and nobody will see it anyway). 

I had the burlap (as anybody who has been around here for any amount of time could tell you ;-) ... that 100 yards has gone a LONG way), and the stockings were $3 at Target. 

I also bought pins to put on them. They didn't have an "M", so I bought a W (genius, I know) and flipped it upside down.

Aaannnddd the tree. 

TJ's favorite game is to dive under it, chew on the branches, and tug off the bottom layer of burlap. I love that cat with all my being, but man does he try my patience during the holidays. Last year he was tiny enough, he'd scale the center of the tree. M and I would look over and see 2 eyes peeking out of it about 3 feet up. Thankfully he hasn't tried that this year, he must know he's too big. 

So there it is! 

I have a huge black mirror on the wall opposite this window (above), that I'm thinking of making/putting a wreath over. Other than that, this is pretty much going to be it for the year. There are Christmas lights strung around that window behind the tree too. I love me some Christmas lights. 

HOME TOUR // OLD MASTER BEDROOM

We moved into our house in May of 2011. 

Truthfully, only REALLY not liking the paint in one room...that'd be the kitchen. It was a burnt orange color, so that got painted literally the night after we closed (by myself, while M was off at a dude's weekend). Then, slowly, as we lived in it, and bought furniture that didn't match the colors of other rooms (okay, so that was only the basement.. ) we have painted other rooms. 

I think it's really helped the WHOLE house feel like ours, like we've put our stamp on it, instead of just placed furniture in it. 

So, after a few of you started posting about Young House Love being at West Elm in Minnesota... I started browsing their website. I emailed Matt and told him I wanted to paint our bedroom upstairs.*

Expecting a, "why?" ... I instead got a, "okay, what color?" Apparently M was itching to hop back on the home remodel train, which I should've guessed from the number of times he'd asked me recently "is there anything we need to do around the house? any projects...? any at all?" 

So after work Friday I trugged to Target and bought some accessories (and holiday decor, which I will be bringing to you in a separate post this week!)

Let's take a little tour of the upstairs pre-paint. 

(Pro tip: if you want a REALLY dramatic before and after, take the before pics with a messy bed, and at night with poor lighting. Bonus points for a cat who won't stop photobombing)

The stairs (and a cat butt)

It was an olive green color, but dark. 

Not terribly offensive, but for a smaller space that doesn't get a ton of light, it started to be a bit much for me. I wanted something lighter, brighter, airier. (Yes, that's actually a word.. no squiggly red line!) 

 The bookshelf LOOKS all fine and dandy, but this photo doesn't accurately reflect the dings, scratches, smears of random paint colors, and the pale blue dinged up background. I have been told it's a sin to paint over wood like this, but, this wood was not pretty.

(Note: the messy bed, for dramatic effect. also, lazer eyed kitteh behind the mirror, do you see him?)

That large photo is actually made up of thousands of TEENY TINY photos of M and I (he used a computer program to make it for our 1-yr anniversary. It was our "first photo ever" together, at the St. Paul Winter Carnival in 2010).  aaanndd the table is actually a loaner from my friend Dana. We're storing some of her furniture for a year because she scored a judicial clerkship in out-state MN, and is living with her friends' parents.

SO, onto the good stuff. First, I love the look of stacked books in decor, but I don't have any vintage hard covers that fit in my color scheme. SO I took a garbage bag, and sliced it up to make a book cover (remember in middle school when we were forced to cover our books?). 

TJ supervised

aaannndddd now, the after! 

We picked a very light tan (it's a bit more yellowy, than it is actually brown, but I think these photos make it look MORE yellow than it actually is) 

The bookshelf obviously hasn't been staged yet. It needs another coat of paint (but we were both too exhausted to do it this weekend). What this photo does NOT show is aaalllll the frames and books that are on the floor, just out of this shot. Keepin it real, folks. 

I made a few burlap bow curtain ties. They're just held with safety pins in the back. I'm not sure how I feel about them yet, but they didn't take long, I had all the supplies, and they can always be switched out later. They work, for now. 

The part I'm MOST proud of, the stripey wall vignette. 

The table runner is actually one I made for the wedding, but I made 25, and we will not have 25 guest tables, so.. I borrowed it. :) 

The white branch/floral installation is from Target ($20!) and is attached with plastic pegs and double sided puffy tape. I tested it on the wall and tried pulling it off to see if it'd leave a mark, and it didn't seem to. The pieces are SUPER light, so you don't have to press them onto the wall too hard to get them to stay, either. 

See:

 

You can also see, below, the grocery bag books, the vase of flowers I borrowed from the bathroom, and the pearls/beads are necklaces of mine that I used. 

So there it is! I'm in love with the last photo here.... with that instagram filter, it reminds me of something I'd see on IG from a real home decor blog.. or something. Which my house most certainly does not usually look like. (Although, not to toot my own horn, but Dana's friend who helped move stuff to our place last week said she loved my living room and said it looked like a Pinterest board. Mission accomplished, haha)

Stay tuned for the home tour, holiday edition! 

*{edited April 2015: This is no longer our master! Click THIS for the most up to date version of the master}