Thursday, September 10, 2009

barn kitchen diy part 2

Many of you recognized the new item in my mother's kitchen from the first diy. She designed and built a removable table extension for her "dining" bar. To fully appreciate this project, I need to give you a little background. My mother's little barn home doesn't have a lot of square footage. The kitchen also performs triple duty as living and dining room. One of its most prominent features is the simple bar made from a salvaged plank and mismatched vintage brackets. Here are several photos of it from past tours. As much as we love it, my mother is often feeding four extra people: my family. She also loves hosting casual dinners with friends. A bar, facing a wall (no matter how cool that wall is), isn't very conducive to conversation. For the last year and a half we've hauled out a card table and chairs for all of us. It's a lovely wooden set from the 40's, but it's really heavy and a hassle. So my mother has been dreaming... and scheming of a solution that would afford her space most of the time, but seating when needed. She always says "there is a solution to everything". Although I was her soundboard, she really did this one solo, using mostly very inexpensive and accessible materials from a home improvement store.

Here are some of details:
  • custom metal sliders are permanently attached under the bar to hold the weight of one side of the table.

  • Next to those sliders are large eyehooks.
  • The table top is just a board painted on the top with latch locks attached on the underside that meets the bar. On the opposite side, a flange is bolted in the center. A galvanized pipe screws right in and acts as a table leg. A flange at the bottom stabilizes it.
  • When you want to dismantle it, the leg unscrews and the table stores flat!
Yes, I'm proud of what a genius my mother is! This might sound silly, but I bet you are, too! We tossed around some different color ideas and both decided black was just right. It matches the side of the fridge, the marmoleum floors and the new chalkboard pantry door. We ended up using the leftover chalkboard paint... which gives us some fun options for entertaining the kids while we (make that my mom) cook... or teaching proper table settings, etc. Because it's paint on wood, there are no chances of that awful screech of fingernails on slate. Using a damp eraser means no dust. But mostly we just keep it blank...

We've already had some amazing dinners on it... I've even slipped over for a quiet breakfast (above). Pin It

23 comments:

  1. I love the idea of using chalk board paint on the dining table. Please let us know if it holds up well to messy eaters!

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  2. Sarah, we were worried about greasy fingerprints and spills, but so far so good!

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  3. so fabulous!
    love, love the idea of the chalk board paint for the table! hmm... i may contemplate this for my own table i think my little ones would quite like this idea too : )

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  4. I like the kitchen and chalk board too much.Its much nice tables are also lovely...

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  5. great idea. i am a big fan of chalkboard paint- for everything!!!

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  6. Your mother is a woman after my own heart. There is a solution for everything, you just have to let it percolate around the brain for a while. I read somewhere recently that artists are natural problem solvers-it's what they do when they create. And while this makes total sense to me, it was something I'd never really thought about before.
    Love this table. (and the glaze on the vase is gorgeous)

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  7. Thanks everyone! Goergia- "artists are natural problem solvers-it's what they do when they create". I love that! Yes!

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  8. I mentioned in your love each day post but this is truly a gorgeous blog...xx

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  9. you guys are rockstars....plain and simple!

    love it....perfection!

    happy weekend friend! xoxo

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  10. What a wonderful solution to a tricky space problem! THanks for sharing. LOVE the lavender heart, too, by the way.

    xo

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  11. I just want to say I find your blog very inspiring! You are so creative, thank you for many good ideas :)
    Have a nice day.
    (And welcome to say hello at my blog or www.malerskrinet.no)

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  12. Love, love, love your blog (and your Mom)...

    Thank you for sharing your life and creative energies.
    Look forward to your offerings on Bloesem Kids.

    A fan,

    ~ Jess Satnick

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  13. Great solution. Wonderful ingenuity. The smooth black paint on it looks both simple-functional and industrial-edgy And that quiet breakfast looks pretty awesome, too.

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  14. awesome cool! love the little 'nook' created with simple materials.
    catch up - yes the first day of school is always hardest on us parents. this year my middle child went to kg and my 9 year old started 4th. i even cried for my 9 yr old. what a baby i am! haha.
    love your ideas, style, and talent. i'm trying to figure out how to use this sewing machine. should be fun. ;)
    i do have a question. i guess it's an html ?. how do you have words in place of links? does that make since? for instance you have check it out 'here' and here will take you to the link. anyway, keep up the beautiful story line. we are listening

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  15. Oh! I love it! I have a kiddie table that I've been planning to sand down & re-stain. This would be SO MUCH BETTER!

    Thank your mother for such a lovely idea! My kidlets will LOVE IT!

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  16. That is such a great idea! The little dining area is so charming, as are those awesome looking stools.

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  17. Love it! I have a heavy heart today but your post brought me joy, so thank you for that.

    Such a great idea! I'm sure we'll sneak it in somewhere here too. How about a kid size table? Hmmm...

    I also came across another one of those stools on my hunting trip for my etsy shop and was wishing there was a way to get it to you guys :)

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  18. I love your mother's barn -- and the swivel storable bar table is ingenious! The chalkboard paint looks beautiful, and I really appreciate its use as a table-setting makeshift worksheet.

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  19. This is great! I love how the design of the table is simple and yet versatile! Just perfect!

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