Story of a Table: Finished Table! (Plus a Sneak Peek...)

This small table is still in the process of being stained. When it's finished it will match the dining table.

We are using the small table as an altar at our wedding next month, and afterwards it will be set up in our home. (I love the idea of repurposing vintage items in, through, and after the wedding. We are using our Duralex glasses as candleholders, vintage flash cards as table numbers, and antique library drawers to hold escort cards. I plan on giving each of these things a home in our house afterwards.)

The dining table and altar are both so lovely, and we can hardly wait to use them in our home.

Here is the headboard for our queen bed, pre-stain. It looks a little rough and "country-cabin" here, but take a look at it with the stain...

This photo still doesn't show it quite accurately; David says the stain is much more muted and less shiny in person. He matched a photo we gave him of the wood booths in our favorite cafe!

We have just been so pleased and delighted with the process of having these pieces built; we feel like it's our first real "grownup" furniture, and it's been a pleasure to have them built by David. It's also been fascinating to watch the process, through photos, of bare wood's transformation into articles of furniture that we will use for the rest of our lives.

• Visit David Ellison and see his tables at: The Lorimer Workshop. He is based in Rhode Island, but he is shipping the furniture we ordered at a very reasonable rate.

First installment in our Story of a Table:
Plans, Designs, and The Lorimer Workshop

Second installment in our Story of a Table:
First Look!

Third installment in our Story of a Table:
Boards Planed and Glued

Fourth installment in our Story of a Table:
Tweaking the Stain Color

Great table - What chairs will you use with it?

posted by bepsf on August 22nd 2008 at 11:32am
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Will the gaps remain in the headboard?

posted by Team Decor on August 22nd 2008 at 11:44am
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I know you're going to make the headboard look great, but at first sight it reminded me of these pallets we have at work ( you know, the kind you use with the forklifts, etc) So, this just gave me a GREAT idea for a headboard, for FREE! I know it won't look as good as yours, but ....

posted by Stephvixen on August 22nd 2008 at 12:04pm
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Love the dining table and the matching mini table. The headboard is a little pallet-y for my taste, but I still appreciate its chunky simplicity. I'd be interested to see a similar headboard with the gaps filled by thin strips of wood in a darker stain.

All in all, what I like most is that you found an independent artisan who's willing to work with you to create something unique and durable. This is "last-a-lifetime" furniture.

Happy nuptials.

posted by Voodoo on August 22nd 2008 at 12:33pm
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The table is gorgeous. Personally, I like the headboard the way it is, gaps and all.

I'm curious as to what reasonable shipping is for pieces this big.

posted by teamnap on August 22nd 2008 at 3:18pm
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Thanks guys. Shipping was under $300 and it turns out that David is delivering everything to us himself on a round trip tour through here and several other places.

About the bed - I will say that it was inspired by a headboard from Ohio Design, as well as the ab3 bed from Atlas. We couldn't afford either of those lovely pieces, but this one is in a similar style and will have been custom made for us. I can definitely post photos when it's all set up.

And lastly, I'd love suggestions on chairs. I got a great craigslist deal on some vintage Windsor chairs (very sturdy and classic) that I'll paint white, along with some IKEA OLLE chairs. But those are stopgaps until our budget will allow some long-term purchases.

Any suggestions?

posted by faith on August 22nd 2008 at 8:55pm
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I think we might be seeing "pallet" for two reasons: the overall squareish-ness, and the type of wood used. The two inspiration pieces were longer and/or had thinner boards, so they looked more drawn out and less like a box. And the texture seemed smoother with less color variation between the wood and knots as opposed to this custom piece.

That being said, a pallet painted black might not be a bad headboard at all...

posted by That70sHeidi on August 25th 2008 at 4:50am
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