For our own dining table, we couldn't exactly find the perfect plans online. I wanted a black farmhouse table that would fit in our tiny kitchen nook. I absolutely love what we came up with:

Things I considered were:

- Cost effective - we used this apron & legs from a Design Confidential plan because it used 2 by fours which are pretty cheap. We also used five four foot pieces for most of the table top (so we could just cut in half 8 footers, we have one extra piece to build a bird house...). We also used this stain called Rust-Oleum Ebony which is half the price as Minwax. We had extra outdoor Huntsman Urethane which we used because having two toddlers sit at your table might as well be like living outdoors.

- I wanted NO horizontal braces due to the need to push in chairs & two high chairs.

- I also wanted very rounded corners because toddlers don't really look where they are going (okay, neither do I).

- I wanted it black to contrast our wood floors and ceilings, as well as to go with a beautiful painting my sister did.

- I wanted it farmhouse styl. We measured the area we needed and drafted a plan with measurements. We figured out the exact cut list BEFORE going to the lumberyard so we could plan it accordingly to reduce scraps.

- I wanted it REALLY sturdy. Our last table felt like it might collapse everytime we ate at it. We accomplished this with 4 by 4 legs.

Take home? Do it right the first time and square and measure everything. The first time we put this together it looked terrible due to a warped two by four. We took it apart, and put it back together with a few adjustment for the warping and it is now very solid.

We did this after making our other table so we had a bit of confidence in building. It was really fun to come up with our own table top and make it fit our needs and wants. Starbucks has basically this same table (much longer, but with four by fours and a farmhouse top), proving this this design is meant for action. Thanks for reading!

Brenda Fleming | New Mexico Art