Bunker Hill Remodel: Complete guide to our DIY farmhouse style table

I have been wanting the dining room to be our "middle ground" of the house, to tie both the kitchen and living room together. Since we are going for a modern, rustic theme, I still want to do the rustic table with modern chairs and add mirrors on the wall behind the table.

These are our inspiration:

In order to save some money, we found a complete DIY guide on Pinterest so we can build our own farmhouse style, rustic table!

We used these plans from Kreg tools:<http://ana-white.com/2012/11/plans/farmhouse-table-updated-pocket-hole-plans>

First, we measured the area where we wanted the table to go and placed our chairs so we could have enough walking space around all sides. Then, we put tape around where the table top would be, according to the Ana white plans. Her directions are for a 65" long x 38 1/4" wide table.

After we decided these dimensions would work perfectly, we went and bought all the wood and supplies on the purchasing list.

**When buying the wood, make sure the boards are perfectly straight (not bowed) by closing one eye, holding the board at your eye level, and looking down all 4 sides of each piece. You would be surprised at how many are not straight at all!

The Kreg Jig is the most expensive item on the list at $99.99, but we definitely recommend buying it to make "pocket holes" for the table top. If you do not buy this tool, all of the screws will show.

Following the steps on the Ana White procedure, we made the first cut of the 10ft long 4x4 at Home Depot into 4, 29" segments; These will be the legs. All other cuts can be done later, at home, with a skill saw.

The total cost for the wood and supplies (minus the Kreg jig) was $82. To me, that was wayyyy worth it!!

When we got home, Brad followed the directions and notched out the 4x4 legs.

Then, he made the cuts on the 2, 34" boards for the cross beam on the sides of the table called the "stretcher support beam."

Then, we screwed the boards together in a pattern!

These are the only screws on the entire table that will show and aren't inside of pocket holes:)

As for the stain, in order to get that rustic, distressed look, I started by hitting and scratching the wood with anything I thought might look cool.

For the most part, I used the tools seen above. What I liked most was using the back part of the hammer to scratch the wood; this simple step added years of age to the wood in only a few seconds. I tried to make the damage random and spirratic, but I found that doing small clusters of scratches and dents tended to look more organic.

The next step was to apply the stain! Using Minwax "weathered oak" stain and a cheap $1.78 brush from Home Depot, I applied one coat to each piece of wood individually. I left some boards to soak while other I wiped others off immediately after applying, just to create some variation in color.

The wood naturally absorbed color more in places with more texture, which is why it looks so weathered in some areas!!!

After I finished the first coat of stain, I decided it was the look I wanted, so this just had to dry for at least 8 house before applying a top seal.

In the meantime, Brad continued to follow the directions given by Ana White, cutting the boards, drilling the pocket holes, and screwing together.

After allowing 8 hours for the stain to dry, we applied the top sealing polyurethane coat over the top. Any brand of polyurethane seal will work, but I used Varathane in clear satin. This specific brand recommends at least 4 hours of drying time between each coat and a minimum of 3 layers.