Thursday, October 6, 2011

our kitchen table

to start - we have no kitchen counter space here in the Framboise Manor kitchen - like none!!!

and we brought our pier 1 imports, fancy bamboo table that looked great in our old house but sucked bad here. thank goodness we also brought our plain, old, big, blonde wood table as well. after a short period of time here, we realized that the fancy bamboo table wasn't working for us at all. so we promptly gave it to our friend kelly. and got out the big, old blonde one!

my friend Jennifer did something really interesting with her kitchen table years ago. she drew on it all of the places that her children were born, all of the places that the family was stationed and everywhere that they had been. i always loved the idea!

when we brought out the big, old plain table, it worked great as a substitute counter space. fiiiinallly - we had some counter space for chopping, cutting, making bread, pizza dough, etc.

but it was plain and i have a thing for wanting things to be fancy and pretty. so i tried different table cloths that we already had - they didn't work at all - because we were using the table as a counter. so then i tried different place mats and centre pieces - but again - because the table is our extra counter space, there is no room for fancy place mats, table cloths or centerpieces.

and then i remembered what Jennifer had done to her table...and was inspired!

here is the plain old table being sanded, distressed and ready to be painted. oh and by the way, our new kitchen cupboard with our beautiful red sink is white. so are our appliances. so i wanted the table to be white on top - and distressed for that chabby chic look!



here it is painted white and with a coat of spar varnish so that it is waterproof (spar varnish is also good for boats!).



after the paint went on, and before the spar varnish, i sanded and distressed the tabletop again. and then started drawing on it. i used a heavy bevel scraper. i loved the way it turned out.



here it is living in the kitchen window. my new kitchen counter! and the table that we spend so much time at!



using a bbq skewer i drew in the word "forever". cuz we are forever kind of people!



and here is the finished product. i love it. it has a centrepiece built into it and works fantastically as a counter top. and every time we are making food, or bread, or sitting at the table playing boggle (which we *frighteningly* do a lot!) - we get to see a reminder of the promise that we made to each other. that we are together forever!



together forever - in this crap-ass little cottage!

16 comments:

  1. Great way to personalize your table! :)

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  2. You know, if you were to have jambaloney run out and knock a deer in the head, take it inside and field dress it on the table,and afterwards, wipe gently with a paper towel, perhaps glue a few of the deer's hairs to the surface...that, my dear, would make a great piece of art. Those liberal friends of yours would love it.

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  3. Forget what Stephen said, I like the personal touch.

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  4. When I do something like that, I am always paranoid that I will misspell something that then will remain there forever. Only after I look it up in the dictionary three times am I satisfied and this is coming from the fifth place state regional spelling bee winner.

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  5. Aww...Kymber, I love it and oh my gosh...I love your writing! it has a really smooth, fancy flow to it. Good job, my friend!

    Love & Hugs
    ~Fel~

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  6. I like that. There's nothing really fancy around our place. The furniture is utilitarian but plain. Your new table set up will be just the thing for your nice house there.

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  7. Hey at least its YOUR crappy-ass cottage! Love the table.

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  8. teeheee - thanks so much Donna! and thanks for stopping by - we really appreciate it!

    Stepehen, my dear friend, i am sending jambaloney out tonight with a big rock and a big stick - hopefully those will be enough - to land a nice-sized deer. oh also - i will give him a couple of sandwiches. when he lands the deer, we will field strip it on the table and then spar-varnish it again to catch all of the hairs and drippings! as always, you are a dear friend for dropping by and leaving suggestions that we can use - bahahahah!

    however, Duke, my dear friend - you are always a true gentleman, and i always take your words in stride - thank you Sir!

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  9. Es, my dear darling, as the regional spelling bee winner i can only think that you must be OCD like me?

    Fel - you are always so sweet! didn't i just say that in my last email to you? it's because you are always so positive and sweet...and you wonder why we all love you?

    Arsenius, my friend, dear friend, you always know what to say to make me feel that whatever idiotic thing i share is ok? you always do that! i thank you dear friend!

    and SciFi - the mere fact that you would leave a comment leaves me tickled! thank you so much for that!

    some people talk about their internet friends feeling like family. i say p-shaw to all of that! my internet friends are the best people in the world - IN THE WORLD i say! that's who my internet friends are!

    and i can't believe that i have such friends!

    thank you all so much for stopping by and leaving comments...we get such inspiration from all of you!

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  10. Crappy ass cottage? It's on an ISLAND!! What more could you ask for?

    Oh ya and Nice table...and guess what? It's on an ISLAND TOO!!!!

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  11. Kymber - you are so awesome I'll bet Charlie Sheen would snort you.

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  12. PP - ya we sure lucked out finding this place on an ISLAND!!! we love it here and i have told you that you are always welcome for a visit!

    North - do you mean that i am like cocaine - me no getting it???

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  13. Yup. :-D

    Or a little pinch of you to make a lot of awesomesauce...

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  14. bahahahah - thanks for clearing that up, ya nut!

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  15. Kymber Kymber Kymber!! How did I miss this post? I thought I read all your post when you came back and shared you were on line!! I love it. I am so happy to have given you a little twinkle for you to create this amazing table!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    XOXOXOXO
    to a cutie petootie couple!!
    Jennifer

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  16. Cool! Hubby built our countertops and kitchen table out of plywood and I know all about spar!
    The Anonymous Homesteader

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