I can picture it now:

You open my blog to find a photograph of a beautiful table.  You can tell it's old.  Weathered.  But clean, refreshed, and loved.  The table has obviously had a home in quite a few kitchens since it's birth, each with it's own unique taste. It has a story to tell, as most old furniture does.  The rounded, large, metal-bottomed drawers look a little worn, but it in the best way possible. The walnut top is rich in grain, each piece uniquely beautiful.

Another photograph captures the clean, white KitchenAid sitting on the table, awaiting it's next dessert assignment no doubt.  The white Cuisinart will accompany it on the table, as it is useful in so many ways.  The granite center will shine with a shine that only granite has.  And sitting in the middle of the table you see a plate of freshly baked whole wheat snickerdoodles…still steaming from the warmth of the oven.

*Sigh*

I almost have it my friends.  I am so so so close to that beautiful, completed table.  And while I wish that I had the patience to wait until it was all finished before I posted about it – I couldn't.  So keep that pretty scene described above as a reminder of what WILL come…eventually.

Remember, this table?  The one I inherited from my sister?  The one that had been left outside for years to rot?  Sad.  Forgotten.  Lonely.  Cold.  Ugly.

Well that wee little table has found a home on our homestead.  And we've (ahem, Stuart) has been working like a dog to get it finished. 

Mostly because I've been crackin' the whip and tellin' him that if he doesn't finish it soon, he's not going to get supper anymore.

I kid.

But, in all seriousness, my love has put some blood, sweat, and tears into this table.  It began by painfully peeling and sanding off all of the old paint and mold.  We had to go down quite a bit to get rid of the nasties, but I did want to leave a few bits of the paint coming through.  I think it has character!

Then, after many-a-conversation, I gave in to Stuart's request to do a custom top for it with a piece of granite that we inherited (for free!).  I wasn't keen on the idea, but he promised it would be worth it.  And, lucky for me, he was TOTALLY right.

The walnut is a beautiful wood – the grain reminds me of the puffs of smoke that come out of a pipe. 

And here it is.  All that needs to be finished now is some fine-grain sanding on the top, a coat of linseed oil, a trim that will surround the entire table-top (hiding the plyboard edge), a new cutting board to fit in that open slit at the top and…voila!  A brand new work table for my kitchen!

Think of all the cucumbers I can slice!

The bread I can knead!

The dressings I can mix!

The biscuits I can cut!

The cakes I can bake!

(Want me to keep going?  Cause I can?  Oh! You do?  Great!)

Think about all the vegetables I can…can.

The salads I can toss!

The potatoes I can dice!

And for pete's sake, think about all the pictures I can take of my food while I'm working there!  My enthusiasm at this moment is almost uncontrollable!

This table not only quadruples my counterspace, but frankly…it's beautiful. It can hold my tableclothes, napkins, hand towels, dish rags, bread bags, and who knows what else! (I haven't even filled all the drawers yet – I don't know what to do with all that space!).

My hope is that this table will inspire you to seek the old, the weathered, and the broken.  Then, put in some elbow grease.  That oldness.  That charm.  That barnyard-esck feel.  That, my friends, that is something IKEA will never be able to replicate.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a husband to pester (to really finish it).

It's a good thing he loves me.

Oh, and if anyone cares, my porch is still trashy.

I give up.

The end.

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