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Last night I officially packed up my studio. Until I get my studio set up at our new place, I’ll be posting mostly thrifty finds & ideas. If you’re interested in guest posting here, please email submissions (photos at least 500px wide) to melissa at melissaesplin dot com.

I’ve never posted a picture of our kitchen. Most of that is because I’m not a fan of the ’90s oak cabinets with brass fixtures (not my style), but the other part is because of the kitchen table. I’ve not been satisfied with any of our kitchen tables from day one. The first table we ever had was one that Chris & I refinished just before we got married. It was okay, but not worth moving to California after we finished college. We ditched the first table & upgraded to a pub-style black rubberwood table with stools. I believe we spent something like $250 for the table & 4 stools.

The second table was fine, but I wasn’t a fan of the boston finish or the random “drain” notches on the table top. It wasn’t very kid-friendly, either. It was then that we moved back to Salt Lake. We settled in our place & I absolutely didn’t like how the table was always competing with the counter tops in the kitchen/dining area. I got rid of it. I think I sold it for something like $150.

To replace the black pub table, I found a cool little vintage table for $25. Chris didn’t like it from the very beginning. It was a laminate top, so it was easier to clean up & I didn’t care so much if Penelope smacked abused the table. I bought orange chairs from Annie for $20. I’ve always liked the chairs & I think Chris likes them just fine. Finally, just before Felix was born, we got rid of the table. Sold it for $25.

We used a Lifetime folding table while we decided what we wanted to do. I found a simple & fairly cheap DIY project over at Stylizmo for making a farmhouse-style modern table. We went for it. Fail. We bought cedar planks; but turns out they hadn’t dried out so by the time we assembled, sanded & painted, the slats shrunk leaving uneven breaks between the planks & some really gross cracks in the paint. The wood was too lightweight, so the table always wobbled & it was the absolute wrong size for our dining space. Much too wide & too long. I ended up making Chris take it apart. I started sanding the top to fix it all, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth it. I repurposed the purchased Ikea legs for my studio desk & the wood is just sitting in our garage. I’m sure I’ll find a great purpose for it somewhere.

Now we’re using a table that we found on the side of the road back in our California days. I was originally using it as a desk in my studio, but now it’s our dining table. It’s got tons of scratches & nicks. You can see a chunk taken out of the bottom left corner. I’m tempted to rehab it, but it’s a bit small for having family over.

So there you go. Table fail. We’ve now decided that we’re going to invest in a grown up table. Sometimes the saying “You get what you paid for” is so true. So what are our plans? I’m still not entirely sure, but I know this much – I’m planning on powdercoating the chair legs. I painted them white a while back & they’re looking really ratty. I’m thinking orange or yellow would look fantastic. I just have to figure out how to remove the legs (they’re attached by rivets). It’s looking like that will cost somewhere around the ballpark of $200. It’s more than I’m wanting to spend, but I know that getting them powder coated will make the color last longer & look infinitely better.

As for our future table, I’m on the fence on whether I should DIY it or not. I’ve been madly pinning potential tables to Pinterest. Angela suggested I look into For Me, For You’s DIY table with hairpin legs. It’s pretty brilliant. If we were to go that route, I’d invest money into a nice, thick piece of solid walnut or something similar. Maybe find some reclaimed wood. Chris & I have talked a lot about what we want in a table & basically we’d like the same table my in-laws have. I’ll have to take pictures sometime. It’s absolutely a stunning teak modern table surrounded by 8 white tulip chairs. Gorgeous.

I’m sort of in love with this Fresno Modern Walnut table. Aren’t those lines just spectacular? It’s out of our budget, but pretty close to what we’re looking for. Ahem, I mean I am looking for. I’m looking for a table with unique angles. Have you seen what’s at Ikea recently? Great, but BORING. Check out my tables pin board for all of my favorites.

What do you look for in a table? Do you have any suggestions on where I should go for one?