Just so I don't unintentionally force your brains to implode due to an overwhelming amount of sad news, I would like to post about the awesome table we made. We originally intended to build it for our growing family, so that's semi sad in light of current events BUT nothing will stop us from filling these table benches with multiple children..adopted or our own..but hopefully both. So let's just pretend this post is prophetic and eventually when I post a picture of little hands eating super messy foods I will remember this moment.

I wanted a very very simple table design, which I guess is a good thing for my hubby since this was his first table building adventure. (I mean..OUR table building adventure! I helped! I totally did! I just didn't saw for fear of losing limbs.) Not that that man can't do literally anything he puts his mind to...but nevertheless, a simple table design it was. We found this design on Ana White's website, knowing ahead of time we would pick our own finish.

We made some modifications and chose a different bench to go with the table, but I can't go into much DIY detail here because I do not have the skills or knowledge to explain it properly, but basically we modified the size and a couple of minor details.

The total cost of the table AND benches was 200 dollars, and we certainly could not have found a combo we loved for even close to that amount. (We did tons of research and the minimum cost we could find for table+benches we liked was 400. Bare minimum.) We also splurged on the top boards for the table because we knew they would look awesome under a stain, so you could technically do this project for even cheaper depending on the wood you use. (We used untreated pine.)

We went with a stain from Rustoleum called "Driftwood" and it turned out just how we imagined--almost like a grey wash...that can be as opaque or heavy as you want it to be. We got ours to where we wanted it with about 2 coats (only 1 in some places.)

We sealed the table and benches with a water based polyurethane and were able to bring it back to our house that same day since the weather dried the table SO fast for us.

To be honest, if building a table is something you want to do, just do it! Don't be intimidated. You can find tons of free plans out there with detailed steps, and if you have access to power tools you're good to go. (Lowe's will even cut wood for you if you know exactly which cuts to make!)