We decided long ago that we wanted a rustic farmhouse table for our dining room. Now, I'm not sure if you're in the market for farmhouse tables, but if you look around the web, you will see they are not cheap to buy (see this and this). It didn't take us long to realize that there was no way we were going to drop $1500 or more on a dining room table. So, what did we do? We made one ourselves! It was really pretty quick and easy and because the process went so fast, I didn't really take many pictures of the process. We used FSC certified wood and stained it "weathered grey". James sanded the heck out of the top so it is smooth and glossy rather than rough. I think it makes a nice balance between the "rustic" look we were going for and the "retro" look of some of our other furniture (more on that later). The table is HUGE too - 9 feet long and seats 10 comfortably. You are getting a preview of our dining room chairs and chandelier here too. You'll get to see more when we reveal the rest of the room (ie, when I finish refinishing furniture!). Of course, we couldn't stop there. James needed a table of his own. Our game room has a long "bump out" section of about 5-6 feet where there are two doors leading to the outside. It is the perfect space for a game table so James decided to build a custom shuffle puck table. Again, if you were to buy a shuffle puck table, you'd drop anywhere from $1200-$4000. Ummm...no. Not in the budget. So James got to work, designing, constructing and painting his own table. Can you tell what teams he routes for (he was a very happy camper last Sunday)? Cool, right? Both tables have been a big hit already. There's no doubt they will provide both a place to gather and play with friends and family for many years to come!