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Farmhouse/Dining Table with extendable leaf???

Submitted by jdlemmons on Mon, 02/27/2012 - 09:54

I've been wanting an extendable dining table for some time now. Our dining room isn't big enough to fit a table for 10 on a regular basis, but this past Christmas dinner proved my reasoning for needing an extendable table. I LOVE the farmhouse table and would really like to use the plans, or something similar to them. Does anyone have an idea HOW you would go about doing something like that???

IKEA has a table that I like quite a bit that's extendable, but I'm just having a hard time spending $300 on a table from IKEA when I KNOW the quality of IKEA furniture. It's great for some stuff, but I don't know about a dining room table.

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claydowling

Tue, 02/28/2012 - 17:18

Expanding tables are a bit of an advanced topic. You should probably try making a simple table first (like a craft or coffee table). If you want to try it though I wrote a review of my favorite book series on the subject over on my blog: Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking.

I agree that spending $300 on a table from IKEA is money poorly spent. You're definitely getting what you pay for.

One option for bigger seating would be to build two square tables of the same size. For big events you pull out the spare table and put them next to each other. Add a table cloth and you've got a single large table.

jdlemmons

Thu, 03/08/2012 - 12:10

I built an ottoman using the same idea as a coffee table... they're basically the same idea just with some foam and fabric. It was fairly easy and a great intro for me into building. I built the ottoman completely on my own, but my Dad has offered to help me with the table since it's a little more complex. I'll check our your site and see if it even looks doable before I get too involved.

I've considered the two table thing. The only reason I hesitate is because we don't really have the space to store the second table when we aren't using it. Other than putting it outside or in the garage, but I'm worried it could wear out faster in either of those locations.

Tsu Dho Nimh

Fri, 03/23/2012 - 05:52

Look for plans for a "draw leaf table" They have a loose top and the end leaves store under the top when not in use.

Construction requires some precise cutting, but it's not horrendous.

Guest (not verified)

Sun, 04/15/2012 - 08:19

I've been wanting to do the same thing because our family is only a family of 4, and our space isn't huge. We don't need a table that seats 10 comfortably every day, but when we do have guests, it's usually in the range of 8-10 people, so the extensions are a must. I LOVE the farmhouse table and was wondering the same thing. The other day there was a link to a blog post where a guy did just what you're asking about. This is the link to the post:

http://blog.forrent.com/contests/our-dining-room-table-guest-blogger#.T…. It's really great and I'm exciting about being able to build this eventually with the extensions.