Post 14: I Spent Less Time Buying My House Than Deciding On My New Dining Table

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Out with the old

The day before my renovation started, I sold my existing large table on Facebook Marketplace. It was going to be in the way during demo, and my couch and appliances needed to move to the adjacent living room, but the biggest drawback was the table did not fit the look that I wanted for my new kitchen. I was thrilled when someone replied to my ad in the nick of time, came that day to see the table, loved it, and had the capability to dismantle the table and carry it right out to their car. Huge relief! I sold my table 5 years later for almost the same price I purchased it for, which I intended to put towards a new table.

Custom needs

I knew I wanted a smaller table than my 60″x40″ extendable table that I sold before the renovation started. I was originally planning for around 54”or 48”x36″ table. I searched high and low, but found nothing on Wayfair, or any of my other go-to online retailers, so I surrendered to the reality that I would need to get a custom-built dining table. I went to Joshua Creek Furniture; the store where my sectional sofa is from, and I found a few tables I liked. I brought a few stain samples home, and when I taped off the 54″x36″table size with the new coffee bar cabinets installed, it felt really small. I went back and forth with Joshua Creek for a while, taking home various stain samples trying to make something work, but something was stopping me from purchasing.

Rookie Tip: Before you decide on the dimensions for your table, tape it out to make sure it will fit your space. I had a totally different set of dimensions in mind when I started looking for a new table. Seeing was believing. As soon as I saw the outline on my floor, I realized it wasn’t the right sizing for my small space.

Decision overload

I was doing a lot of online searches for dining tables. One day, Facebook targeted me with an ad for a local custom table company. I really liked one of the designs I was presented with, so I contacted Steve at S & D Rustic Decor to see if he had a showroom I could visit. After reading some great reviews, I drove to Belmont (1.5 hours each way from my house in the middle of winter) to visit the S & D Rustic Decor shop and met Steve. When I visited the shop, I looked at some stain samples, ok a lot of stain samples, but couldn’t decide on one that would compliment my floor and the overall look of my kitchen, so I brought some more samples home. At this time, I was planning on 54″x36″ and worked with Steve to design a 4 leg table with tapered legs. When I returned home with my stain samples, I still could not find the perfect match I was seeking. I was still in the middle of my renovation, and there were way too many other decisions that I needed to make, so I decided put my table plans on hold for now.

Real-life mock-up

Once my chandelier was installed, I put a temporary plastic table underneath it, so I, and the crew, didn’t bash their heads on the low hanging light. I also wanted to make sure I didn’t get too used to having such an open space in my kitchen. I realized from the plastic table, which was 71” x 29”, that I liked the look of the long and skinny table in my space. I went back to Joshua Creek Furniture again, determined to find a table that would work in my space. I liked a spider base I had seen online and knew they could replicate. The challenge was the base couldn’t be altered to fit the small top (which could be altered). I went to some local furniture stores in Mississauga, and they could scale the table to the size I liked, but they were either way too expensive or did not have the style I was looking for. Once again, I was at a cross-roads, and envisioned living with my plastic table for the duration.

Bringing my design to life

I did find a table design I really liked at one of the local stores, so I reached back out to Steve at S & D Rustic Décor and shared the picture to see if he could replicate and scale to my dimensions. He said he could, so I decided drive to Belmont (again) to meet with Steve. The day before, I was having lunch with my “renovation expert” friend again. She noticed that I added several wood pieces to try and warm up my kitchen and suggested maybe a wood tone like one of my cutting boards might look good. I had been all over the map with my stain options. I began thinking I wanted something light and beachy, but the ones I tried were too pink and didn’t compliment my floor or champagne fixtures. Then I decided to go almost an ebony espresso colour, but that didn’t work with the table design.

Rookie Tip: If you can’t find the exact table you are looking for online or at a local store, investigate having something custom-made to fit your specific needs. I was hesitant to look into custom options as I thought they would be completely out of my price range, however I was able to find the perfect option for my table, built to my exact needs, within my budget.

Canadian maple: wormy or smooth?

I was pretty sure I would go with maple wood, but I didn’t like the wormy maple look (caused by Ambrosia Beetles boring holes into the wood) that is in high demand these days. Something about having holes in my new table bothered me. 🙂 When I went to S & D Rustic Décor (for the second time), I pondered switching to white oak or walnut wood, but neither complimented my grey oak floor. I am happy to report, this table saga does have a happy ending. After months of debate, I finally decided to go with an ambrosia smooth maple table wood in a coffee bean stain. I also purchased 4 dining chairs in the “Tampa” style to compliment the table. I decided not to go with a live edge design, but S & D Rustic Decor has lots of amazing live edge options if that is your preference.

Worth the wait

I am not a patient person, so having to wait 12 weeks for my new table and chairs to arrive was torture. The chairs were being upholstered by local Mennonites that Steve worked with, so they took a bit longer than the projected 10 weeks production time for the table itself. Steve, personally hand delivered the table and chairs to me in late June and they fit my space perfectly. The table picture I provided Steve had a cross base pedestal, and I decided on 64″x32” for the dimensions. Steve replicated the photo I showed him perfectly. Now, my only problem is keeping Zooey off my new chairs, which she of course has taken a liking to…but who can blame her, they look amazing! 🙂