My Take on the Benchwright Console Table

Unfortunately, I just finished building this console table two weeks before Ana and Jim's plans went up on the web site! What I wouldn't have given for the plans! Without the plans, my dad helped me modify the Tryde Console Table to look more like Pottery Barn's Benchwright Console Table, but it was definitely a labor of love (and took me three months to complete, primarily due to lack of motivation and bad weather in Chicago). But I am so pleased with the final result! Because my console table is based off the Tryde project plan, I used 4x4s for the legs, and 2x2s/2x4s for the top. Some of the wood came from other projects, including the loft bed my dad built for me nearly 15 years ago! The bottom shelf is a 1x12 that has been cut with a jigsaw to "perfectly" fit around the posts. I say "perfectly" because I definitely had to use some wood filler around three of the posts! The drawers were the hardest part, and where I really could have used a plan! They are much smaller than they appear from the outside - I used 1x2s for the sides, then attached a 1x6 face to match the sides and back of the console table. Both drawers are firmly held in place by metal drawer slides, which means I don't have to worry about the drawer falling out because it's been overloaded with glassware (as you can see, the console was a late holiday present for my partner, who is using it as his bar). I should have used a thicker piece of plywood on the bottom, because as you can see, the screws attached to the drawer slides protrude. It's nothing we can't live with though! We really wanted the piece to look older than it is (hence why we purposely chose knotty boards), and with some many reclaimed boards, I knew the stain would have to be dark. We chose a Red Oak Minwax stain and applied it once to the legs (pine) and twice to everything else (mostly whitewood). Two coats of Deft later, and we love the result. It looks exactly the way we hoped it would and we love the mix of dark and light shades.