Our Table!
So we bought a table. We needed a kitchen table but we also wanted a table that I could do my crafts on so we decided to get a cheap-o table from Ikea. We already have 4 bar stools so we just needed to find something to match those.
So we get to Ikea and are instantly overwhelmed by all the different choices and the cost of them (this was before I started working so money wasn’t very abundant at the time). Needless to say we ended up in the desk section of the store instead of the kitchen/dining room section and we found a solid oak table top and these awesome saw horse style legs and it was only $120 for the top and the legs. We were excited by our find so we headed down to the warehouse and picked up our table top and the separate legs, loaded them into the car and headed for home.
This is when we discovered that Ikea is sneaky. The show pieces had this great clear coat on them but the ones that you actually get in the box have nothing on them whatsoever. They were just solid wood. No stain, no sealant, just a light oak table. ugh. Lowe’s, here we come.
This is where our 4 day adventure really starts. This is the tabel top with part of the legs already attached and no stain on it.
We decided that we wanted to do a pretty light stain on it so thatit would match the bar stools we already have, but first thing is first. We really like the rustic country style so we decided to beat the table up a bit first.
Enter the chain, hammer, and a lighter. This is a picture of the table with a couple of coats of the stain on it but no sealant yet. The dings and dents really pick up the extra stain and stand out and we love it.
The burns didn’t show up quite as well as we had hoped but next time we will just make sure to do more damage with the lighter. 🙂
And here is the final product. It’s definitely more of a craft table. Doesn’t really fit as a kitchen table at all. haha. But that is fine since we never eat at the table anyway. It is currently housing the puzzle that we got from Hannah and Shane for Christmas. 🙂
It took us about 4 days to finish the whole thing because you have to wait so long between coats but we had a lot of fun doing it together and we really like the way it turned out.
Last but not least a photo of our wonderful “assistants” Linus and Lucy. 
🙂
ShermaNation 
Oh my gosh. You guys are hardcore! Hammer, chain, and lighter?! I panicked when I read that! But it looks gorgeous! Love the legs. And the blog. Obviously. 🙂
I’m glad you like it. I love it. It’s definitely a craft table and not a dining room table but it works really well for us here. I was really nervous when Daniel was burning the table. It was so dark on the light wood but when we stained it you could barely see it.
ha! imagining your distressing process with the chains and lighter makes me giggle. it looks great! i like that style. we sorta built a table with a-frames with the same vision in mind. it’s tough starting all over again, isn’t it? you’re lucky to have an ikea nearby. the one you go to is probably the closest one to us. 🙂
It was pretty entertaining. Daniel was going crazy and I was afraid it was going to be too much but some of the burns didn’t even show up through the stain. You will have to drive over here to make an ikea trip. 🙂 Starting over was rough but the apartment feels a little more homey now.