Sunday, September 9, 2012

Little Planked Table



Plank top tables.

What is it about them that capture our hearts so?
You see them all over blogland, in magazines, and in stores.
They're a hot item right now,
and are a beautiful addition to any style decor.
They bring back memories of old farmhouses,
prairie homes, and grandma's beach cottage.

I found myself staring at our kitchen table recently
wanting something different,
but not wanting to spend the money on a new table.
Being a gal who has a new found love of power tools,
a vision formed in my mind.

Although I like the base, the top is currently one large piece of wood.  
Kind of a 1970's farmhouse style.
 Nice. Solid. 
But not planked.

Photo taken late Spring 2012
 
I asked The Husband the other day how difficult it would be to remove the top and replace it with some pine planks.
 
No surprise that I got the "hairy eyeball" first, 
then a good roll of the eyes,
and finally a big groan.
"It would be more difficult than you think...." was the reply.

Rest assured, I'm not giving up on this idea. 
It will happen.
Though he may come home to find our kitchen table dismantled and laying all over the kitchen floor some day.
I've got ants in my pants about this project, girls.

So, while I was sweeping out the basement of the barn yesterday,
(casually and sneakily eyeballing the wood we have stored there),
I rediscovered this old planked table that I had purchased from a friend who decided not to use it in her home.
It was shoved into a dark corner just waiting for a makeover.
I had plans of repainting it and bringing it up to my booth in the spring to sell.




I hauled it up to the house and into the kitchen.
Yeah.
I painted it in the kitchen because it was sooooo hot and humid outside 
(again!)
and I wanted to be in the AC.



It was painted dirty glossy white, and in dire need of a coat of ASCP.
I had visions of a bare wood top, but after spending hours sanding and sanding and sanding,
(and vacuuming and vacuuming and vacuuming)
I gave up and decided just to repaint it.

A couple coats of 'Old White' to the rescue.
A bit more sanding before my arm fell off.
A light coat of Clear Wax.
Buff, buff, buff, buff, buff, buff....
(switch arms)
buff, buff, buff, buff, buff, buff, buff, buff.

 

Placing towels under the legs to scoot it across the floor and into the living room,
I manhandled this heavy little table into the corner,
replacing the square end table that was originally there.

BEFORE



AFTER



I think it makes the room feel a little more rustic and less formal.

And of course, I'm just loving those planks.

 
 

The lacy candle holder is actually an upside down vintage metal lampshade purchased at the antique market last month that I sloppily painted with Old White and then accented it by adding little touches of Gilding Wax. 

The old, worn shells are from a beach on Sanibel Island.

Alabaster lamp base: Allegan Antique Market; Florentine tray: eBay



Multiple layers of black, blue, and gold paint rest beneath the new creamy white.



I can imagine multiple decades of loving hands kneading bread and serving meals on this sweet little planked table.



There will be multiple future decades of it living here at Heaven's Walk.



 
~ Blessings ~



Linking to the parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

64 comments:

  1. Your plank top table is so charming! It's perfect in that corner...but it looks like the kind of piece that could travel around your home when you need a change.
    Mary Alice

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  2. You just had that table in your basement?? Wow, what a treasure! You brought it back to life...it looks gorgeous!
    Thanks for checking in on me, Laurie...it was so sweet of you to inquire! Thanks for stopping by my blog :) Have a great week!

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  3. Love your table and really love that sweet candle holder--how creative!

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  4. I love your table! The Florentine tray reminds me of my mother; she had them too. It's so pretty! I love this vignette!

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  5. Super cool table!! Don't ya love when you find something you forgot you even had? That's the best!

    xoxo
    Kathleen






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  6. Laurie..I love your determination...My husband has lovingly come to a place of just saying...What color do you want it?...I know he doesn't want to paint it at all...What a blessed feeling for the past of your table...Thank you for sharing...Blessings, Becky

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  7. So gorgeous Laurie~ I love it!! So perfect in your beautiful room too! :)

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  8. Beautiful!! I too have a bee in my bonnet over our dining table i originally wanted to paint it white but hubby said maybe black would be less girly but alas less than a year later all i can think is i wish it was white so... yep within the next week it will be white and shabby... not a plank top but better than the black for me :) loving the lamp/candle holder too!!! Clarissa xo

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  9. GASP!!! You repainted the Old Plank Harvest Table!!!!! Nooooooooooo.... Okay, so maybe I am too infatuated with original Patina of Time on such things. It's a Lovely Table either way... refinished or left 'As Is'... and I'm still Smiling about the Husband giving you the Hairy Eyeball... I get that a lot too! *Winks*

    Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  10. Love it Laurie!!! I wish I had an awesome table stashed away in my barn! I wish I had a barn :)
    Beautiful job!!
    Have a lovely week.
    Sincerely,
    Melinda

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  11. Dear Laurie!!! Adorable little table!!! At first I thought you were replacing your kitchen table with that one, did not realise the size was different! It looks great in your living room! Interesting you mentioned the table had lived in a house before and you were imagining what a new life "she" will have in yours.
    I am registering my business and decided on a new name, since Condensed Love Home started as a blog about recipes and my projects, not thinking of a business. And the business name is ReStory (ta-daaa!) Treasures for the Home. Exactly thinking that my items have lived before in other homes and will go have a new life in my clients homes! What do you think? I am still in the process of designing the website and new blog and facebook page. All should be up in 2 months. Nice to visit you again! Hugs, Claudine

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  12. sweeeeeetness, laurie.

    with something to paint white everyday, color me a happy girl.

    love to you.

    michele

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  13. It is great !!..and i love the new place for the table...but wich table is now in your kitchen???........lovely week....love love love...from me...xxx...

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  14. Aww! The table with its timeworn finish is so charming, and yes, it does give the room less of a formal look. The ASCP Old White was the perfect choice. Thank you for sharing.

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  15. Hey, Laurie ... crawl under your dining table and see if the top is held on by screws. If it is, your plank table top is only a project away.

    Have you ever tried using a heat gun to strip paint? It's not a project for indoors, but it's my favorite (and easiest) way to strip paint and varnish from wood. I did the top of an old side table the other day ... took me about half an hour. With your little plank-top table, an hour TOPS.

    Heat gun or not heat gun, I love how the little table looks in your room.

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    Replies
    1. Hartwood Roses is right, a heat gun is the quickest way. I used to own one (in a previous life) and used it to remove years and layers of paint from the molding around my front door - it was the only way to get through 8 or 9 layers of paint quickly. Sounds like I better get myself another one.

      As for your choice for this table - perfect. And it looks so much more substantial than the other table in that corner - love it.

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  16. How nice to have just what you wanted waiting in the wings for you to lovingly make it over. It looks great in its new home! Love the look with the tray, shells, candle and flower. Beautiful!
    Liz

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  17. I like your new table in that spot, Laurie. You did a great job repurposing it and I think it fits the space better- sturdier and more substantial looking- Have a great week- xo Diana

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  18. Great find, Laurie! Love how it turned out! I wonder if you can make a plank look by using a router to make the "lines" of the planks. That tabletop is going to give you some wonderful space to create lots of vignettes.

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  19. Hi Laurie, You've done it again! Your table turned out beautiful! What a creative mind you have & the heart to go with it. xo Blessings Friend

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  20. Ottimo lavoro come sempre Laurie! Qui i Italia i vassoi come quello che hai mostrato sono comunissimi, in Usa no?

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  21. Oh, I love it Laurie! I'll bet you're so glad you remembered that you had that little beauty stashed away. I sure looks perfect in that spot. xo

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  22. Well this story didn't end the way I anticipated. I thought for sure the dining table would have been replaced with the basement treasure. I turned out lovely, I would also keep that piece forever. Did you end up getting the top off the base of the dining table?

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  23. Vintage perfection...love the excitement this brings you!!

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  24. Just perfect. I love this table the way it came out is fantastic. I also love that candle holder and the tray.

    Cynthia

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  25. Love the table! It looks perfect in your corner. I want a planked one so bad, too. I've been wondering if I could some how paint faux planks. Wouldn't be the same. Your renditions always make me chuckle, my husband would give the "hairy eyeball" look to me as well. :)

    ~Shanon

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  26. That table is just beautiful!!!

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  27. Laurie,
    A M A Z I N G!!! What a perfect table for your room! The accessories make such a sweet vignette!!! You are such a visionary person...glad you had the table in the basement and that it didn't make its way to your booth!!!
    Fondly,
    Pat

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  28. Laurie, it is perfect in every way :)

    I would have dragged that beauty into my home in a minute, I also love the corner it rests in adding that right kind of unique rightness to it, and that lamp so fits in. What a top space to fill with framed photos and treasure galore!

    xoxo
    Dore

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  29. PS, is that China Painted cup/mug in your header signed Diann Halsey just wondering :)
    xoxo
    Dore

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  30. i love it laurie! it looks fabulous in that corner and so much better after your makeover!! maybe you should keep it instead of taking it to the booth!
    Love your florentine tray too, so pretty!
    laura xx

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  31. Love how the table turned out...very pretty and charming!! It looks great where you've put it.
    Have a great week.
    Cindy

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  32. That's so cool! I love this story, and the planked table, it's wonderful! The photos of the roses on the table is gorgeous too. Isn't it fun to find something you already have, and recreate it in your house! And oh man, do i know that "hairy eyeball" look. I just dragged in this old chippy door frame with criss cross panes into the house this weekend, it had peeling paint, and broken glass in it, and my guy told me it looked like something pulled from the dump,
    i love it in all it's chipped cracked and broken glass glory ... Can't wait to show it on my blog...

    Cindy

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  33. Looks good, Laurie. A great base to your beautiful vignette.

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  34. Hi Laurie,
    I had to laugh when I read your post because that sounds exactly like something I would have done {when I was more fit & younger}. I got many scoldings over the years from my hubby! Love your new table and it looks darling there where you placed it. Thanks for sharing and have a fabulous day.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  35. Oh...I LOVE that table, Laurie! The paint showing through looks wonderful!
    It fills in that corner perfectly.
    Good job!!!
    xo
    Tell Rog, Jim feels his pain.lol.

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  36. Wow så fint det blev! Vilket jobb du lagt ner i bordet! Riktigt fint! (How nice it became! Real hard work You placed in that table! Real nice!)
    Have a nice day

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  37. Good for you! You know, we women really are pretty darn good at taking things into our own hands and getting it done, aren't we??! I love the switch you made with the tables. Those turned legs always get to me! And the fact that you finally got the plank top must make you giddy!!!

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  38. Hi Laurie..that has come up a treat. It is a really sweet table now and looks right at home there in the corner!

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  39. Wow you had this in your barn basement? Didn't know barns had basements! You table is gorgeous and love the top of it. Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!

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  40. I started a new blog and used you as one of my inspirations. Please pop into my blog if you have time. Thanks

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  41. Getting a giggle at the mental picture of you placing it on towels and moving it.... Why am I giggling, because I do the same thing. I place heavy things on thick fluffy bathroom rugs and push them over the hardwood floors from point A to B.
    The table is adorable.. perfect in that spot!!
    Cheers, Gee

    Take a peek at my blog if you are so inclined..
    www.simplymedesignedbygee.blogspot.com

    Thanks.

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  42. The table looks so gorgeous!!! Thanks for linking up at Take it on Tuesday!

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  43. Dear Laurie, Thank You so much for stopping by for a Blog Visit and to leave encouraging words. I have immersed myself in those things that will bring me strength, Peace and a Calm as we move through a difficult time. I appreciate the wonderful Community here in the Land of Blog who are always so uplifting and positive.

    Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  44. Oh Laurie - I absolutely love the table - and the vignette is just perfect - that tray is gorgeous!!!
    And I say disassemble the kitchen table lol - hubby needs a little " incentive "
    Hugs,
    Suzan

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  45. Now how come we all don't have a barn to plunder for goodies?! OMG...I love your planked table. My dining table is an old farm plank table and we have a smaller one in the den. Both I have had for years and years and wouldn't part with them for any thing. The smaller one was even in a flood and has water lines on the legs....making it even more special. :) Hope you have a fabulous weekend Laurie. xo

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  46. I'm getting the same "look" about my old kitchen cabinets. I am sanding and painting them white!!! We are getting a new wood floor in there in a few weeks and the white will look fantastic. I LOVE your new (old) table--how fortunate you had it in the barn. If only I had a barn.!!!!! The accessories you added are stunning.
    Ann

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  47. What a great basement 'find' and you've done a terrific job on painting and sanding. It's a perfectly planked table for your corner there.
    Best of luck with 'planking' your kitchen table and avoiding hairy eyeballs, Laurie. :)

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  48. Your planked table is amazing....but your photography is even better! Every time I visit.....I am so inspired :)

    blessings,
    karianne

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  49. I always appreciate the fabulous inspiration you share at Potpourri Friday!

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  50. Beautiful. It's perfect for the room. Thanks for sharing this week at One Creative Weekend! Have a great weekend!

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  51. Haha! So funny that you had that and forgot about it :) It looks lovely, and I am convinced that buffing is helping the flabby arm thingy for me ;) Thanks so much for sharing this at Rustic Restorations Weekend!

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  52. Laurie,
    What a beautiful old table.And you brought it back to life!!!! Looks perfect!
    xx
    Anne

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  53. Laurie, Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful planked table on SImple & Sweet Fridays. What a gorgeous addition to your room!

    Jody

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  54. The table is perfect in that space! Love all those layers of paint, especially the last one that you so lovingly--and patiently!--applied.

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  55. I love that table! I think it's just great in that space.

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  56. These tables are gorgeous - kind of nostalgic! Love your transformation and love that you had one just waiting for you! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  57. I ADORE that table. You did great. Thank you for sharing and contributing to the link party at http://www.FineCraftGuild.com/party/

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  58. It is a beautiful addition to your room! Thank you for joining Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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  59. Hi Laurie,
    I thought that I had visited all of the links from last weeks Share Your Cup and just realized that I missed a whole row. Darn, love this table! So sorry, I would have featured it. You just always do amazing work and I wish I had just a tad of your talent!
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  60. Gorgeous transformation Laurie. Thanks for sharing on Shabbilicious Friday.

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  61. Tha table and your room is fabulous!

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  62. Love the look you created here... I'm new to your blog and I'm reading all years of September/October posts. I wonder if your husband could take a router and create grooves that look like a planked table on your big table? Maybe that isn't good for actually using the table. Just wondering. My kitchen cabinets have grooves like that... Love the method you use

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Bless you and thank you for visiting! I read each of your comments and treasure them all. So, please make sure your settings will accept emails, or leave your email address so that I can reply! ♥ Laurie