"Who Needs a Seat at the Table When You Can Build It?"

I've always had a soft spot for rustic and vintage aesthetics. One day, I decided to swing by the vintage store off Hwy 150 in Browns Summit, North Carolina. This quaint store, open only every other Saturday, held treasures waiting to be discovered. It was on one such visit that I met Steve, the owner, who led me to the back and unveiled two magnificent doors from an old movie theater. Enchanted, I didn't hesitate to claim them as my own.

Those doors lingered in my garage for about a year, waiting for inspiration to strike. Then, as fate would have it, a wedding invitation sparked an idea. Those doors became the grand entrance to a farmhouse ceremony at Summerfield Farms. But once the festivities concluded, they found their way back to my garage, patiently waiting for their next chapter.

Reflecting on the dynamics of our home, I realized our dining room served little purpose. Downstairs lacked a space for the kids to hang out, and my husband longed for a cozy area to relax. So, with a sentimental attachment to our old couches, I made the decision to transform our dining room into a study/leisure room.

The transformation began with bidding farewell to the old dining room table, which had long overstayed its welcome. Determined to make better use of the space, I envisioned crafting a new table from those vintage doors. Consulting my son's father, a handyman at heart, revealed that table legs could be the costliest part of the project. Thus, began my quest for a budget-friendly solution.

Serendipitously, on my commute to work, I stumbled upon a discarded wooden table with striking legs. With the help of a custodian and some impromptu roadside retrieval, those legs found their way into my possession, free of charge. Back home, I prepped the legs for painting, relishing in the satisfaction of acquiring them at no cost.

Involving the whole family in the table's construction added an extra layer of joy to the project. From painting the legs to applying the first coat on the doors, each member played a role. With Elias's expertise, we ensured the doors were securely fastened, ready to withstand family gatherings for years to come.

Completing the table was just the beginning. Finding matching seating for eight proved to be an adventure in itself. Embracing a mix-and-match approach, I scoured various stores until I found the perfect combination of chairs and a bench. With a touch of stain and paint, the ensemble was complete, a testament to our collective effort.

Set the table was going on in our family space I wanted the family to all have their little piece of help in helping build the table so the boys are liars pain in the legs my husband Marshal took the lock off the door and Ethan help me paint the first coat on the actual doors once the doors were dry I actually use a Weather and technique that they have at Lowe’s and, may the word look aged a little bit so it would give me that antique-ish feeling that I really want it to fit into our living room space!

Elias's dad that came over to

help because he had a special drill to drill the tape the two doors together in a special way so that it will fit together and would not slot apart and Ethan was super excited to go outside and help uncle Mike put the holes in the table wall in the doors.

 Once we get the holes in the doors Marshal and Mike bought the doors inside so that I could board them together we flip them over and while we have a family table I was super excited because the table can sit eight people edit so that’s helpful when we are having family and friends over next we build this table but we need eight places for people to say so I simply just I was going to do the mix- match chair thing but I looked up and found three chairs that were at the light at Concord Mills TJ Maxx and then I found two gray and white chairs from Marshall’s him and Greensboro off of Marshall’s home goods off of new garden in Greensboro then later on build a bear to go on the other side of the table for the bench I simply bought three pretty much two by fours at water the legs for the bench off of Amazon as is and just painted them and had a Saul down the bottom of the feet a little bit but yeah and then I stained the bottom of the bench that was my first time staining something and I simply went around the edge of the table and staying there as well so that it will match the bench and Wala. My aneW dining table!

And just like that, our new dining table stood proudly in its space, a symbol of resourcefulness, creativity, and family collaboration.