You guys! I BUILT A FREAKING TABLE!

I am pretty impressed with myself for how beautiful it turned out! Especially since I have NEVER used a power tool in my life.

This was a big undertaking but I have to say it was well worth the time and effort because I absolutely adore my new table and I love that I didn’t have to pay $2000 to buy one!

I found the plans for this table over at the fab site Shanty 2 Chic. This site is awesome you can find plans for just about any project and they’re all FREE. Jackpot.

Now, she was able to do it for $110. However, when I went to the Home Depot, I bought the most inexpensive wood I could find and it totaled in at around $200. Hopefully you will have better luck than I did!

This project took me about 2 weeks to complete working on it off and on. I think you could totally finish the construction if you dedicated a whole weekend to it.

Here are some things I learned along the way, being a COMPLETE newb to carpentry:

1. Get the good tools. I attempted to start cutting my wood with a freehand circular saw. It’s almost impossible to get straight lines with that thing. Get a compound miter saw and you will save yourself the headache of re-cutting all your wood to get straight lines! (I was able to borrow one from John-John’s school but you can rent them at the Home Depot for around $40 a day!)
2. Make sure you have all the tools you need before you begin:
   • A powerful drill with a a drill-bit set.
   • Compound miter saw.
   • Electric sander.
   • Kreg Jig System and the longest clamp you can find (I got mine from Amazon).
   • A work table or a pair of saw horses.
   • Gloves, protective glasses, and ear protection.
3. Measure twice, cut once. I think this one is self-explanatory. 😉
4. If some pieces are not perfect, it will be ok. There are a few 45 degree angle cuts for this table, and let me tell you not a single one of mine were correct! But I said “screw it” and it ended up working out just fine. I was close enough to fudge it and to be honest now it gives the table a bit more character and it also gives me something to laugh about whenever someone notices. 🙂
5. You will make about 20 Home Depot trips just because you forgot something or you need just ONE more paint brush.
6. You can TOTALLY do it by yourself. The only time I needed help was getting the thing up the stairs into my condo!
7. HAVE FUN. I mean you’re building a table for goodness sake. Take your time. Learn.

I ended up painting my table a bright aqua color called Thai Teal, by Glidden, in a high-gloss because I wanted a bright pop of color in our condo; everything is super brown right now so I needed to make a big statement. Home Depot doesn’t carry Glidden though, but they’re able to look up the color and create the same exact color, just in Behr! (which I prefer anyways for its superior quality)

I did one coat of Behr primer/sealer, two coats of paint, and then 5 coats of Varathane Clear Gloss Polyurethane in Gloss. I HIGHLY recommend this top coat. It is mega-durable and gave my table a gorgeous almost lacquer-like sheen. This is the most time consuming part just because you have to wait about an hour to two hours between coats.

All in all I spent about $300 for this beauty! I even found the awesome vintage swedish chairs on Craigslist for $80 total! So for the entire set it was less than $400! However I will say that if you have to purchase tools, your costs will be much higher than my estimate. But ask around! You’d be surprised how many of your friends have tools laying around just waiting for you to come borrow them! Maybe bake them some cookies as a thank you for saving you hundreds of dollars. 😉

And ta-da you’re done! I hope this helped you guys and let me know if you end up making a table for yourself! xoxo