DIY farmhouse table and bench {FINISHED!!!!}

after many hours of work (major work), i can finalllllllly show you all the finished table and bench - and i am beyond excited!

i will start with a list of all the tools and products we used to build everything -
miter saw
circular saw
belt sander
palm sander
dremel (used to sand notches and distress edges of wood)
hand planer
tape measure
square
pencil
chisel
hammer
kreg jig mini pocket hole kit
pocket screws
LOTS of sandpaper (100 and 220 grit)
minwax english chestnut stain
minwax gloss polyurethane
minwax satin poyurethane
and lots of wood

now i will tell you the most surprising part of this entire process - and why all of my reveal photos are taken with the table and bench still on my porch and not in my dining room....

all those hours of work put into building this - all the sweat and bug spray and physical exhaustion...

THIS TABLE IS NOT OURS TO KEEP!

we decided that we would build this as a wedding gift to very dear friends! they have done so very much for us and have been wanting a dining room table - so they are getting just that! we have been sending them photos along the process and they are SO excited to finally have this table in their home!
the bottom stretcher of the table has a very special message on the underside. using our dremel tool, we engraved their name and the year as a 'little something special' for them to always have.

we are currently in the process of building our own table, so when it is finished, i will share that one as well!

and the finished table and bench -

i'm telling ya - this tabletop is so smooth! and after 4 coats of poly, it better have been!

the handmade burlap fringed table runner looks amazing on the new table, and this was also part of the gift! (blog post on that soon!)

so there you have it! the restoration farmhouse table built for less than 200 bucks! we are more than excited to have made this and can't wait to have our own. needless to say, our friends were beyond excited and it looks amazing in their dining room!