It’s finally done! This space is small but between the holidays and day to day life, it seemed to take forever to complete. This project involved building a new dining table, and small simple changes to the decor. Adding a rug and curtains seems to have brightened the space up and make it appear larger, rather than making it cramped.

I really wanted a round fluted table for this space but after doing some research online, I quickly decided to try and make the table myself. I may just have expensive taste, but all of the tables I liked were over $5,000.

I did some searching on craigslist, and came across this table that I could remove the base from and turn into my own. This was actually a very simple build; I bought wood rounds and pole wrap from Lowe’s for the base, and then sanded down and stained the top. Super simple!

Sanding was easily the most time consuming part of this build. I wanted the table to ultimately look like white oak, so had to be meticulous in getting the initial yellow color removed. Once the base was made and attached, it was time for stain.

The first step for any good staining project is to always use wood conditioner. This helps ensure the stain takes more evenly and produces the color that you’re aiming for. I used Minwax wood conditioner, then I added Minwax Simply White to the whole table. The base took to the stain extremely well and only needed one coat while the top took 3 coats to produce the same color. I then went back and added 3 coats of traditional poly followed by 2 additional coats of spray poly. After letting it dry in the garage for several days, it was ready to be brought in!

I finished the space with velvet curtains from Overstock, chairs from West Elm, and a rug from Wayfair. I love how the leather chairs brings some warmth into the space.

Thanks for following along, and don’t forget I document the entire build process and behind the scenes work for all of my projects on my Instagram page!