DIY: farm table seating.

while we were "theory-crafting" (as daniel likes to call it) about our table, we went back and forth a lot about our seating options.

we knew we wanted a bench on at least one side, and two fabric chairs for the ends of the table. i couldn't decide if i wanted to do 2 benches or have chairs on the other side. i thought 3 different seating options might be a little much, but i'm glad we decided to go with it. i think it gives the room a little more character & height.

we found these chairs at the nashville flea market for $15 a piece. we bought 4 and thankfully we only needed 3 because we had a flying chair incident on the interstate.... no worries, daniel sacrificed himself to recover the chair and now it is used around the campfire :)

i sanded the chairs & used a tact cloth to remove the residue. i spray painted them with valspar primer & then valspar gray spray paint from lowe's. i used 2 cans of primer between the 3 chairs, and 1 can of gray per chair.

{i love the detail on the back of the chairs}

{after the primer}

 {finished product}

next up we purchased two dove gray tufted lydia dining chairs from world market. i had my eyes on these for awhile, and when we went to world market after the flea market, they were on sale that day for 15% off! there were also only two gray chairs left, so we took that as a sign and came home with these beauties. this was by far our biggest splurge of our table project.

and last but not least, about 2 months later, we finally built the bench. we used the same blogger's plan for the bench that we used for the table - click here. we didn't follow this exactly - just went with the same general design we used for the table. we actually measured a few things wrong and had to do a little "re-do" half way through the project. thankfully, we both just laughed. 

 

i was really worried about getting the stain the same color, but i only did 1 coat of stain & poly and it turned out great. 

last but certainly not least, we replaced the god-awful light that was in there (so bad i don't even have pictures) with this beautiful (and CHEAP!) pendant lamp from ikea. and the rug came from rugsusa.com sometime last year - it came over from my apartment when i finally moved all my stuff in. 

drumroll please... our dining room/eat-in kitchen!

DIY: farm table!

daniel and i both really love projects. how lucky that i found a man with a whole garage full of saws & tools? jackpot.

back in march we decided to build a farm table. we used this link from pinterest for the wood cuts: click here. we pretty much followed those directions and ended up with a beautiful table!

once we cut the boards to the correct measurements, we put them together to see which order they should go in. we were looking for them to be as flush together as possible. 

then we sanded everything and put the top pieces to the side. 

next came the frame. we built the top grid separate before adding the legs.  once the frame was complete, we placed it upside down on top of the boards that become the table top. we then made sure it was lined up correctly on all sides, and added 3 screws per small strip of wood to attach the top pieces to the frame.

ta-da! we then filled in all the screw holes with wood filler & sanded them down after it dried. 

next up was the staining - hi diesel!

we used minwax special walnut. i think we did about 2-3 coats. the wood we used for the legs was pressure treated so they soaked up the stain quicker. we did  2 coats of poly once the stain dried. 

we already had the stain, poly, and wood filler, so really all we had to purchase was the lumber and screws. when all was said & done, we spent less than $80.00 on this beauty!

next up, the 3 different seating options we have at our table. 

daniel nathan sawyer.

i couldn't just jump back into regular programming without taking the time to formally introduce daniel to the internet.

i first met daniel last july at a beer fest with mutual friends. we work together, but he works in operations, and i work in cube-land, and we work with 3,000 people. SO... i didn't know him from work. thankfully, we have a bunch of mutual work friends and he met up with us at the beer fest.

fast forward a few weeks when we became facebook friends and started messaging. then texting. and then we went to another beer fest on september 5th and the rest is history! pretty much, we owe everything to beer.

daniel was born in nashville and grew up in the middle of nowhere about 45 minutes from here on 12 beautiful acres of land. he grew up riding dirt bikes and playing paintball. he is an only child, he's 1.5 years younger than me, and he is a tennessee grad (gasp!). daniel loves IPAs, coffee, building things, league of legends, an occasion glass of merlot, renovation projects, the guys he manages, our dog diesel, ham sandwiches, and most importantly, whiskey.

falling in love with daniel changed my life, and i never could have dreamed that god would give me someone this special. he has the kindest heart (which he doesn't want everyone to know so naturally i'm putting this on the internet), considers me in every decision he makes, and loves/supports me in ways i never knew i needed.

so internet, here he is. the best partner, roomie, dancer, coffee maker, doggie dad, and friend. i am the luckiest.

{first pic we ever took - and the day i chopped all my hair off! october 2014}

{first trip to atlanta - at sweetwater}

{atlanta - december 2014}

{christmas eve selfie with my parents!}

{watching bowl games - december 2014}

{eric church - january}

{one of our many projects - january}

{d's first trip to charlotte - at olde meck! january}

{happy 25th birthday d! february}

{celebrating moving in together! may}

{atlanta & sweetwater x2. may}

{cabrewing!}

11 months later.

let's see... where do i begin?

it's been 11 months since i updated my blog.

11 months ago, i had 15 more inches of hair, i had met daniel once, i was living the bachelorette life with lindsay pretty much every night, and i barely knew what i was doing everyday at work.

oh my, how things have changed!

i never could have dreamed that 11 months later, this would be my life. the last year has changed my heart, tested my patience, taught me more than i could have imagined, and pushed me to my limits more times than i can count. but when all is said and done,  i'm the luckiest girl in the world.

excited to be back and sharing my life on the internet. join me as i craft & built & cook & work & love & cry & dream my way through the days here at the newly updated life with laura!