Rustic Coffee Table - From Scratch!

Finished Product:

This project surprisingly didn't take that long. We really needed a coffee table to make the living room a little more... livable. However, It was hard to find something with a rustic look that wasn't either overpriced (Restoration Hardware, anyone?) or ugly.

So, I sketched out what I would like a coffee table to look like and encouraged Ryan to help me put it together. This did not take very much convincing.

For this project, we used:

• Basic lumber from Home Depot (tongue & groove wood planks and 1 x 4's)
• Nails (and a nail gun if you want to cut some corners)
• Steel wool (0000 grade)
• Vinegar (white)
• Tea bags (optional)

First, we mixed together some vinegar and steel wool. The 0000 grade works the best, because it's finer and dissolves faster in the vinegar. We left this sitting for about 24 hours to complete the chemical reaction :-) This would be used as a stain later on in the process.

The tea was brewed separately.

The actual construction of the table wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. We measured and cut the boards and connected them by nailing some 1 x 4 pieces to keep the table sturdy. Then, we framed the table with some more 1 x 4 wood planks.

 

 We then added some legs and repeated with the lower shelf of the coffee table. It's a pretty simple, no-frills design, but that's what we were looking for. I look forward to having that bottom shelf for added storage in the room.

 

We waited about a day and then started staining. Before doing so, we sanded down the table. The steel wool + vinegar mixture had turned dark. We made some streaks with the brewed tea first. Then, we went over the whole table with the steel wool mixture. When we applied it, the color didn't change too much at first. After about 30 minutes, it was a medium-brown color (below). We added another coat.

Then, it was finally done! We moved the table back inside. I think it fits the character and colors of the room really well. 

Here it is! I LOVED the way the stain turned out. It's not smelly like other finishes, and completely natural (so you don't feel like you're breathing in questionable fumes). We still need to add some details to this room, but it's really starting to come together. Woo hoo! It was really easy to make the table look a little worn by overlapping our brush strokes.

The whole process took maybe 4 hours and was completely worth it. Plus, it was only around $100 for all of the materials. Definitely a bargain for such a pretty table.

 - E

Summer Progress

Hello Friends!

Lots of things have been going on in the last several months!

Mainly:

• Whole house has been re textured and painted
• New floors are done, some divider strips need to be put down
• Questionable electrical has been fixed in kitchen and garage
• New ceiling fans have been put in the bedrooms
• Kitchen has awesome appliances
• Garage has been significantly cleaned up
• Cement walkway (cracked), back patio (really cracked), and shed foundation has been removed
• Front and back lawns have been rototilled and gave grass growing in 

Here are some sneak peaks of progress. More details and pictures to come soon! 

Living Room

Before:

After:

Dining Area (didn't get a before image of this, but it looks good!)

Bathroom

Before:

After:

Stay tuned for one of the best transformations ever... the kitchen!!!

E

Where is Willow Glen?

 
Willow Glen is a charming town in the middle of the busy, busy Bay Area. It has a quiet, peaceful feel to it and even has a downtown area (walking distance from the house) with shops, cafes, restaurants, and galleries. It's one of the nicer neighborhoods in the Bay Area with limited availability on real estate. Getting this fixer upper was a lucky find! It is also centrally located - only a 5 minute drive to downtown San Jose, or 40 minutes to San Francisco!

Here is what downtown looks like:

The town takes Halloween and Christmas very seriously - people from all around actually come to drive through the streets and look at people's decorations. 

There is a farmer's market in the summer with local produce as well.

Learn more about Willow Glen by clicking here.

The House - "Before" Shots

This is my first house and I have found myself a fixer upper, as you can definitely see below.  I have a lot of friends and family that have wanted pictures of my new house so I thought I would start this blog.  I will be documenting my house and the changes I make to it over the days, weeks, and well, years. I'll spend a little more time on this site as I go, making it look better here and there so just be patient.

View from living room into dining area

Another one of the living room

Living room again - check out the big window!

Kitchen

Living room - you can see the front door

View from living room to the door that leads to bathroom/ bedrooms

Kitchen again

Kitchen - a little sideways here. Unknown spill on the floor.

View from kitchen/ dining area into living room and garage

Dining area looking into garage

Living room into bedroom area - you can see an empty space in the floor where a wall heater used to be

A little sideways - view into master

Second bedroom - scary wood paneling!

Wood paneling, coming down already :-)

Crazy paneling room has a nice view into the backyard

Back of the wood paneling, taken down!

Stepping on gross paneling (watch out for the nails, it hurts when you step on them!)

You can see a 2nd window and a closet in this room

Nice view into the backyard

View out of the wood paneling room

Bathroom - with handicapped shower. This one will need a creative solution.

Slightly slanted view of bathroom - Think I have to rotate the pictures before I upload them!

Bathroom

Nice view of backyard... and a handicap bar

Bathroom

Bathroom

Scary medicine cabinet - has a weird smell

Flooring in bathroom

More floor... and interesting transition to hardwood

Master - carpet made the room smell like smoke

Door out of master

Interesting chandelier in the master, you can see closet and through the window as well

Picture left hanging in master

Chandelier

View outside through the 2nd window

Closet - slightly slanted. Weird yellow color (for now!)

Another view out the window

Garage - the door is all sealed up and does not function anymore

Garage

Some of the backyard - this is an apricot tree

Garage - good place to store all of the tools while renovating!

Garage, slanted!

Some of the backyard

Truck parked in the backyard! Hauling in the new floors.

Work table and floors ready to be taken out of the truck

Gravel driveway - hoping to put a garage at the end of it!

Another view of the garage

View of the driveway onto the street

View of the driveway leading into the backyard

Front of the house! Huge oak tree in the front yard.

Another view of the house

House again

Front with massive tree!

Front