Splinter anyone?

I love primitive country decorating. My last home had rustic elements such as barn boards on the walls, beams adorning the ceiling with dozens of baskets hanging down. I loved that house but it was not conducive to raising young children. We stressed over the idea of explaining to the ER doc how a set of antique sheep pruning shears got stuck in my child (yes that was one of the items hanging off my kitchen island). After numerous splinters from apothecary chests and railings that were below the safety code (with beautiful detail by the way) we knew we had to tone it down. The new farmhouse does have remnants of our primitive past but safer for the youngins to run around, which is now the most important element of a home.

Having said all that I still have a desire to pick pieces that resonate from another era. After hanging on to a picture of my dream harvest table for many years I finally decided to make it a reality. With a growing family and an average of 6 eating each night, our little dining room table was no longer cutting it. We obtained information from a friend about a local artisan who duplicated antique furniture. A 40 minute drive later he quickly drafted up a sketch and in no time quoted us a reasonable price to make, paint and deliver this item. The original picture had 6 drawers adorning the trestle on the bottom but seeing as most of us are over 4ft (those not in a booster seat) we felt this little detail would get in the way of say....sitting close enough to actually eat. We scrapped that and went with a straight trestle bar that did not take away from the authenticity of the piece. The table arrived this weekend and I absolutely love it. These people were efficient, extremely easy and kind to work with and the best part were a joy to do business with.




It was an effort to search for a craftsman, visit their location, look for examples and ultimately decide on a final sketch. Most would like to go out and pick out a ready made item to bring back that day. I on the other hand love the idea that I helped out some wonderfully talented people in our area and the best part the price was probably less than half should I have bought it from town.