Dustin’s Budget Farmhouse Table

For many years I wanted my own 7’+ table that I could fit at least 8 people around. I met a wonderful woman when I was in High School and we dated for a little while before both moving on and getting married. After 16 years we found our way back to each other. We are building a new family together and love family dinner. So, I built us a table that she will keep at her house until we are married. This is a farmhouse inspired table and rather than distress the top to make it look like it had 30 years of use, we decided to finish it smooth and we will put the dents and dings and stains in it ourselves over the next 30 years so we can remember each one. Pretty standard mortise and tenon joinery on the legs/apron and biscuits for the tops. I also wanted to show that even though I have a bunch of expensive lumber, if you have a tight budget, a few good tools, and a little time, you can build something that is perfect for you. This entire table is built from 2x6x8 lumber from the Big Box store that I milled myself for $175. I used cheap flat black paint, Minwax stain, and finished with Wiping Polyurethane. Now we are ready to make our memories with this new table and the money I saved can go towards an engagement ring :) You can also see my Step-back Cupboard in the background.