THE LAST PIECE TO THE PUZZLE

Hey everyone!  How was your weekend?  If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we've been out of town for our last little summer fling.  I'll share more of that with you this week.  And, thanks to Emily A. Clark and It's Overflowing, I have some new friends around here.  Welcome!  I'm so glad you're here!

Way back in March 2012, I shared my inspiration board for my dining room with you.  Wow, when I just looked that up I started that room even longer ago than I thought!  However, after lots of second-hand shopping, painting, sewing, and DIY projects, this room is almost finished!  

Next up, I have one final project to complete, the dining table.  My parents bought this table to re-do and sell in their booth, but the minute I saw it I fell in love with the shape and chunky legs.  I bought it from them and it's been sitting for about 2 years waiting...  

Part of the reason for the wait was this table didn't have a leaf.  Lots of times with antique tables the leaves are missing.  Where do they go?  I knew that in order to use this in the dining room, it would have to be a larger size.  After much searching, I found an incredible carpenter who made a new leaf for me.  From scratch.  He hand-planed the apron on the side so it would match the table exactly.  I'm still amazed at his work.

I wanted him to make one large leaf rather than a couple of smaller ones.  I plan to keep this in the table all the time, and I wanted it to have as seamless of a look as possible.

So, the time has finally come to finish this up.  This was my very first inspiration photo for my dining room,  and I knew I could make my table have a similar look as this one.  Really, the legs are what caught my eye the most.  

I like the natural top but don't think it's quite the look I want in my dining room.  However, I'll be moving the table that's currently in the dining room to the kitchen, and I'm dying to use that table to try a similar finish as the top of this one. 

The legs are already worn and chipped up, and with a little more distressing I think I can achieve the look of the table in the photo.  

On the top however, I'm leaning towards re-staining it all to match the legs and tie in the dark legs of my side chairs.  I'm a little concerned about getting the finish of the new leaf to match the old table top, but we'll just have to see how it goes.  I'll keep you posted, and any tips are greatly appreciated!

Have a great Monday, we're off to pick up class schedules at the Middle School!