That time I became a carpenter.

When I move into a new place I go somewhat comakazi in the decorating department. I walk in and I see all of my “For the Home” Pinterest boards coming to life. Brandon sees trouble.

The first thing that I wanted to add to our humble abode was an entry table. I’ve never had one and they always look so endearing and welcoming. We scourged the isles of the furniture monstrosity also known as Ikea, which is an adventure in itself. It left us tableless so we traipsed through Target, frolicked through Furniture Row, and hustled through Hobby Lobby. To no avail a cute entry table was not to be found. I had a pretty specific area it needed to fill, and an idea in my head that it needed to live up to.

What I did tumble into was a website outlining how to build your own table, and that's exactly what I decided to do. You can visit said website here. She didn’t give specific instructions, so it made it a little tricky for me, especially since this was my first time ever building a table. Because I am feeling generous, and I’m downright proud of my accomplishment, I will give you some basic instructions and photos if you would also like to become a carpenter as well.

Happy building!

Supplies:

Wood Glue

Hammer

Nails

Sander

Stain

Paint

Paint brushes

Gloves

Tape Measurer

Cute little knobs (I got mine from Hobby Lobby)

The Wood:

Table Top: 1” (thickness) x36” (length) x17.5”(depth)

Legs: I bought 2 2x2’s and had the nice man at home depot cut them in 31” lengths

Front/back: 2 1x6 pieces cut 31.5" long

Sides: 2 1x6 boards cut 10" long

Bottom supports: 2 2x2’s cut 31.5” long and 2 more cut 10” long.

Bottom Slats: 5 1x6 boards 12” long

Drawers: 3 1x4 cut inch 8” lengths

1. Put the legs, sides, and back piece on top of the top piece. Make sure that when you glue them all together they touch. This was a little tricky. At first I glued then put the back piece in and it was waaay off. I had to gauge it all then glue again. I did measure it to make sure it was even all around. 

2. It needs to dry for about an hour before you can nail it in. While it's drying put together the front piece. 

3. Sand down the front piece and the drawers. Glue them on and let them dry. 

4. When everything is dry nail them all in. I included my handy husband in this part. He's a much better nailer :)

 You can see that we put two nails in each side. This helped make it extra sturdy. 

5. Now it's time to work on the bottom part. Glue the bottom 2x2 supports about 5 inches up from the ground. Like with the top part, make sure they are all nice and snug. You don't want any gaps in those. Let them dry for an hour or so.

6. Then nail those suckers in. 

7. Place the slats evenly on the 2x2 supports. Glue them, and once they're dry nail them in. When everything is nailed in give the table a good sand. Take off those rough edges and get it paint ready.

8. Stain away!

 I stained the entire table, but later realized this was totally unnecessary. 

 9. I chose to paint the entire table, except for the top, white. The paint was a little too shiny and thick for my tastes-but there was no way I was going to Home Depot again.

10. Let the paint dry, add the knobs, then wa-la! Let me present the table.

One of the reasons I wanted a table so bad was because we didn't have anywhere to keep our keys. They were scattered everywhere and it was driving me crazy. 

And there you have it folks, a homemade entry way table. It was the little adventure to build, and something exciting and different to try. And really, it wasn't too hard. Have fun becoming a carpenter.