I don’t even know how to rotate this image, but here is a typical mealtime at our home. What I like? Love the big table and the people around it. I even like the china cabinet. What I don’t? The chairs are not my style and the green walls drive me crazy. I would give anything for two light fixtures to hang over the 8 foot table and change the style from this odd creation that is in place.
I’m a bit late to the #aroundthetable party, but…well, you know what they say.
“Better late than never” also applies to my new dining room table. This DIY baby was built just in the nick of time for Thanksgiving Dinner 2014, but I’m still waiting for warmer weather so I can complete the final sanding and finishing steps outside.
The hoop back chairs are handmade gems from the 80s.
The old cupboard dates to the 1800s. We rescued it from the dusty corner of an Ohio barn and carried it, my husband and I, up two flights of stairs to our first apartment. Took us well over an hour to manage its massive weight and ungainly shape around the tight corners of the stairwell.
The triangles on the walls come straight from the fertile imagination of Mandi at Vintage Revivals.
And the daffodils are purely the glory of spring.
You may look at this image and wonder how it is connected to our block party theme of Around The Table. In this cottage this is our dining area. A French marble café table surrounded with a settee and 2 chairs is where I would offer up a wedge of pungent cheese and slice of baguette. Wine anyone?
With coffee in hand this would be my view while watching passers-by out the window ~
It would not be unheard of to dine in our living room on trays all around our coffee table. We’re none too fancy here ~
Truth be told we’re mostly found around the table while in our garden. The table(s) we have there hold party fare, morning breakfast & sunset appetizers. Many a celebration ’round these patios! Much living is done in the California outdoors ~ a good reality, indeed, since our cottage is so small.
It never rains in California – so the song says, but just in case I’ve made a hide-away in a garden shed. A great spot to gather around the table.
Happy to join in this first block party – thanks Melissa.
This is my first post, so hi all! Around the Table is a perfect first event and I’m excited to share and read your posts! My husband and I built this table before Thanksgiving 2013. Previously we had a beautiful but tiny marble topped pub height table that just wasn’t going to work as a new family of 4. I searched and searched for a replacement and couldn’t find anything I loved at a price point that wouldn’t have me in cardiac arrest each time a toddler sat down to eat, so I sold our tiny table and went to Lowe’s with cash in hand and a 3 month old strapped to my chest to purchase lumber. It took us a week to build and stain and we spent many meals sitting on the kitchen floor eating with our kiddos during that week, which are fun memories as well.
I made the placemats from some clearance coral-patterned fabric I picked up a long time ago and love the brightness they add.
One of my favorite things about this table is I don’t care what happens to it. If kids stab their fork tines on it repeatedly, it adds character. (I purposely move their seats around the table periodically to evenly distribute their wear and tear 
). Marker, crayon and paints wipe right off, and even if they do something to it that I don’t like, I know I can sand and re-stain the top in a weekend.
We already have fun memories involving this table and with a 3 and 1 1/2 year old I know we’re really just getting started on the warmth, laughter and love that will continue to surround it.
This was the dining room in my Grace House in Tennessee. The house that still lodges deep in my heart. When we first moved to Grace house, I did not have a dining room table, so my parents found one at an Antique shop and brought her to me.
The table was missing the leaves, so my dad purchased boards and fashioned the four missing leaves, then stained them to match the table. When the table has all four leaves, it will seat ten. I have happy memories of friends and family seated around her.
In 2006, since it was going to be our last Tennessee Christmas, the whole family came and celebrated with us. We had a wonderful meal and time of fellowship around that table.
When we first moved back to Kentucky, the table was in our campus apartment and more often than not was piled with mail, books or other odds and ends. At the apartment, we used it without the leaves due to space.
Then the table moved again this time to our little cottage in my hometown, where it became the center of attention in my dining slash workroom slash library. This was a wonderful room where I could spread out with projects or host a group of people for dinner. She has worked hard for us over the years.
And at Christmas of 2013
For awhile before she went to storage, we felt like we were playing musical tables (I haven’t told you about all our tables). There always seemed to be one table without a home, so this one was sacrificed. I miss her but know she is patiently waiting for me to bring her home again when the time is right.
Hoping you find Grace around your table,
Teresa
I found this granite dining table at a consignment store outside of Philadelphia. We’d just moved into a townhome that only had one designated eating space. Consequently, with two young kids at home, I knew that whatever table I bought would have to be able to take a beating. Not only would it be where we ate most of our family meals, but it would also be used for holiday dinners, homework, arts and crafts, board games, mail sorting, birthday parties, and wine nights. It had never occurred to me to look for a granite table, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect. It was pretty enough for entertaining, yet durable enough to withstand scissor scratches and glitter glue.
Our current house does have an eat-in kitchen, so now this is back to being a regular old “dining table.” I kind of miss eating all of our meals here. Dining rooms so seldom get used, but they usually are such beautiful, serene spaces. #aroundthetable
Welcome to my Spring Gathering! I feel like inviting you all over for brunch! I don’t have a formal dining room. This table opens up and I can add 2 more leafs for special occasions. I guess you can say my home is not formal, but I would like to think it is inviting to everyone who walks through our front door. Someday, I would like to replace the black spindle chairs with new ones that are mixed in style to give my table more character. Maybe even paint the table off white! This dining area takes up about half of our kitchen. Someday I would like to show you the other half. That’s another story! #AroundTheTable
My farm table and chair set was purchased about 20 years ago. I was married at the time, and we were raising our young son. In our old house it stood in the kitchen nook in front of a bay window with a beautiful view of the ocean.
Throughout the years family and friends have gathered ‘round for meals or just a beverage and a chat. Six people can pretty comfortably squeeze in. For larger gatherings or parties we used it as a buffet table and guests would sit in the living room with plates on their laps. Board games were played here, arts and crafts were created, and several years of helping with homework and school projects were completed. Birthday cakes were cut, and prayers were prayed. Our kitty cats have leisurely pranced across, and our dog used to lay underneath in hopes of a morsel dropping. Such great memories!
We eventually did a big home remodel, which included adding a formal dining room, but a pool table ended up in that space instead. Lol! And honestly that probably got much more use than a formal dining table would have.
Nowadays, the farm table is mainly a table set for one, although I‘ve already enjoyed serving a few family members and friends here at my new place. My table is simple and informal, but cute and homey. Here‘s to making many NEW memories around the table for years to come!!
Hello! I’m joining in the Block Party to share my table today.
I’ve mentioned before that I live in a townhouse in Seattle with my sister and my brother-in-law. It’s a great house, on the smaller side but with plenty of space for the three of us. One thing it doesn’t have, however, is a designated dining room.
We use our kitchen island with bar stools, but I often find myself using this coffee table as a dining table, too!
Celebrations at our home always begin with thoughts about how I can make each occasion or milestone special for those in mind. We recently celebrated my Mother’s birthday along with my sister in laws too. The succulent gardens that I used to decorate the table served double duty, as they were gifts for my family as well. After feasting on a buffet of lasagna and salad we gathered around our table and I believe that the phrase stenciled above the dining room entrance came to fruition. Of course the chocolate cake for dessert probably helped out just a little bit! #aroundthetable
