DIY rustic 'scandi chic' farmhouse trestle table

As you know I've got a new craft room! I'm going to show you the room in detail very soon, but first I wanted to show you my new craft table. I wanted a strong, rustic trestle table for my craft room so I went looking for one online. I was flabbergasted to learn just how expensive there are … with cheaper ones starting around £170 and nice rustic vintage ones between £600 - £1000! They are beautiful of course but goodness, that’s a family holiday! So in true AHC stylie I decided to make my own. I'm so happy I did, as the table below only cost me £45. This would make a lovely farmhouse-style or scandi-chic dining table … and it would also be ideal for al fresco family dining as it can be easily dismantled. You could also paint and distress the legs for a lovely shabby-chic look. I might paint these legs, but the character of the bare, aged wood has really grown on me so I'm keeping it 'au natural' for now. 

Sourcing wooden carpenter trestle legs.

To begin with I needed to source a pair of wooden carpenters trestle legs. It took a while to hunt some down but they do pop up on eBay from time to time. You can also find them in reclamation and salvage yards where you can expect to pay between £20 - £40 for a pair. These cost me £25 in total from eBay. When they arrived the tops ends were slightly too long so I took a saw to them .... well that's not quite true, my lovely dad took a saw to them as I probably would have taken my arm off.  Also for a dining table they would be the perfect height but as I wanted to be able to stand comfortably and craft, my lovely dad cut two extra pieces of wood lay along the top of the trestles to raise the height a little (you can see these in the final pic.) 

Sourcing a table top. 

I already had this piece of wood sitting in my shed, I had sourced it from a reclamation yard a couple of years ago for £15. It was already a table with ugly metal legs, and it was cheap because it was in a real state - covered in marks and stains. I could see it was once a lovely piece of wood and I knew it would clean up well, so do try and look past any flaws, as your far more likely to find a bargain this way ... and buying a lovely piece of timber already sanded would cost a lot more. 

It had two holes drilled in the top which is actually perfect for crafting as I can feed my sewing machine cord through it but you can just as easily fill holes in. We removed the legs and I sanded down the top with a hand-held sander. It took just an hour to get rid of the marks and paint residue to reveal the beautiful wood underneath, and I’m so happy with the finished product. I still might paint and distress the legs one of these days, but for now it’s time to get on and craft!

JM x