Building a Kitchen Table: Part 1

I think I've mentioned in the past my great tendency to over estimate my ability and underestimate the effort a project will take.  There were the aprons that took 3 months to finish (and the two that are still half finished in my closet), learning to surf (I swear they make it look so easy), and baking that infamous Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Cake (It was delicious, but it took two days to make and when I moved out of my house last year I was still finding chocolate on the walls). 

You would think I would have learned my lesson by now.  I can just hear my past self yelling, "DON'T START ANOTHER PROJECT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO FINISH!  You remember the mountain biking incident don't you?" 

But the small voice in the back of my head never tells me to put down the absurd project and slowly back away.  Instead, it echos, "It can't be that hard.  You're an intelligent person.  You can figure this out.  And even if you can't, just Google it.  Google knows everything."  And besides, this year is the Year of Do.  If there is ever an excuse to start an absurd project, this is it.

And so...I give you the most over involved project that I am under equipped to do. 

I am building a kitchen table.  (Or rather, I've convinced a friend to help me build a kitchen table.)

That's right, the girl who isn't really sure how to hang a picture straight on a wall and hates to measure things because it takes too much time is going to attempt to build a kitchen table that won't collapse the first time a fork is placed on it.  Do I know the first thing about "planers," and "routers," and "saw horses?"  Nope.  But, the people on Pinterest say, "It's the easiest project I've ever done."  And the Internet never lies...right?

Here's the look that I'm aiming for

A rustic reclaimed wood table from Restoration Hardware

 

And here is what it looks like right now

 

Don't let the picture fool you.  It's all just placed very strategic to make it look like I have some idea of where this is going. 

 

The cool part is that all of the wood for the table came from an old dock at my parents river house.  This dock has been washed away in two hurricanes and has been hunted down and towed back by kayak at least once before it was replaced with the concrete pier that now stands in it's place.  I have long loved the idea of a rustic, barn wood kitchen table that is big enough to fit an army around, but even more, I love the idea of having a piece of furniture with a story behind it. 

 

Don't worry.  This is just Part 1 in the saga of the kitchen table.  I'll post more as this project gets underway.  It should be an adventure to say the least.