It’s been one of those projects with problems around every turn but our kitchen banquette is finally starting to take shape!
I won’t bore you with all of my kitchen-bench-construction-gone-bad stories but I’ll admit that I was pretty close to rolling up into a ball last week when we had been without power and water for 18 hours after my contractor shot a nail into the back of an electrical outlet. Seriously.
But after MANY revisions, this sucker is looking exactly like I was hoping it would and I can’t wait to get it all upholstered up. The back of the bench is hung on the wall with a cleat and I’ll be upholstering it basically the same way that I upholstered my daughter’s headboard but this time I’ll be adding nailhead trim. Fingers crossed it turns out ok.
In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out our kitchen table situation (post contains affiliate links – disclosure statement available {here}). My original plan was to refinish our current kitchen table but the reality is that a trestle table would work much better with the bench seat, making it easier for people to get in and out of it and allowing us to move the table closer to it. I would love a natural wood trestle table with a farmhouse feel – something like the one in this space by the amazing Studio McGee:
Studio McGee was kind enough to share the source of that table and it’s Restoration Hardware’s Salvaged Wood X-base Dining Table – so beautiful but a bit out of my budget:
So I’ve put my name on the list to be called if one shows up at the Restoration Hardware Outlet but in the meantime I’ve been searching for other alternatives since odds are that I’ll never get that call. Restoration Hardware has two other nice looking natural wood tables that cost quite a bit less than the X-base table – they are the 20th C. Reclaimed Pine Trestle Table:
and the 17th C. Hourglass Trestle Table:
I’m also eyeing West Elm’s Emmerson Reclaimed Dining Table,
Hooker Furniture’s Corsica Pedestal Dining Table,
Home Decorator’s Aldridge Dining Table,
and a few others:
I also found a few DIY tutorials for making your own table, although I’d like to have a table before 2020 so I’m not sure a long and involved DIY project is the smartest route to go. A lot of you guys have similar taste to mine and are great sources for finding things – any suggestions of trestle tables to add to my possibilities list?
love these tables! i love the very modern version most. and the banquette is exciting, too! the nail in the back of the outlet…. not exciting. boo.
That banquette had better be good when it’s done – it’s been trouble, trouble, trouble!
Hi! I believe we live in the same area of CT and I have found LOTS AND LOTS of RH trestle tables on Craigslist. I swear, one is on there almost every single day. It’s a RH goldmine out here!!! xoxo
Thank you Danielle – that’s great to know!! I looked once last week and there was nothing but now I’ll know to keep at it. Fingers crossed that one appears!!
Wow! I love your bench. I wish that I had room for a banquette. For your table, check out Craigslist for an Ethan Allen table. That’s how I got my trestle table for next to nothing. It came in a dark pine finish which I sanded off and finished with liming wax.
Ooohhh… that’s so lucky – your table sounds like it would be right up my alley! I’m officially on the Craigslist hunt!
Love where you are going but I so looking forward to your table… I have been waiting to see
it in your kitchen. Love the Banquette….. Can’t wait to see it all pulled together..
Thanks Stacy – hopefully it will all come together in the next few weeks!
Love them all! I have been searching for a new table as well lately, so I will let you know if I see anything else. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of your choices! The banquette is looking good – sorry to hear about the nail accident!
Shelley
Yes, please do! Have you seen the parquet table at World Market? It was on sale for under $300 a few weeks ago (I don’t know if it still is or not) and is so pretty. Unfortunately it doesn’t work for me because it has a typical table base.
AGHGHGH your banquette is looking so amazing!!! How exciting to see that project come to fruition after dreaming of it for a long time. (Except for the power outage…remodeling headaches, oy.) I love love love trestles too….I have an RH outlet near me, shall I swing by and see if there are any in stock there for an amazing price? And then we can figure out how to get it to CT? 🙂
Thank you girl – I’m pretty excited about it. Yes, if you find yourself near an RH Outlet any time this month, let me know if they have any natural trestle tables! I’m not so sure how successful it’s going to be waiting to get a call from the outlet when one comes in – unfortunately our outlet is an hour and a half away so not so easy to just drop by!
Love this idea, can’t wait to see it all come together.
Thanks so much sweet friend!
Hi there – beautiful choices!
We are in Canada, so I’m not sure if this would be available to you, but there is a store here called Urban Barn, and they carry an extension table, very similar to the Restoration Hardware table, in both Silvermoon and a darker Chestnut finish.
That’s the one that we intend to get in October, as their dining sets typically go on sale then.
I hope you find one that you love – looking forward to seeing it in your space!
I’ve never heard of Urban Barn but that looks almost exactly like the RH table I love but for much less! Thanks for the tip!
Check out https://www.etsy.com/listing/185926084/farmhouse-trestle-x-table?ref=related-2. Might be worth a trip.
That Etsy shop is quite a find – they have beautiful tables! Why can’t they be in CT?!! 🙂
Try Canadel tables. Quality can’t be beat
Never heard of Canadel but I will look into it! Thank you!
Gorgeous! Cannot wait to see it finished, you are very clever!
Thanks so much Emma!
Kris,
I love the banquette bench you’re having built. There are so many great knock-offs out there where reclaimed tables are concerned but wow, if you could find one on Craigslist that would be amazing. A man I work with built the reclaimed table you love…he said the Restoration Hardware table didn’t come in a size that would fit in his dining room. It looked great. I’m not much of a carpenter so I probably wouldn’t have it finished even by 2020. 🙂
xo,
Karen
Dang, why can’t I add “handy” to the list of my husband’s best qualities (he’s pretty much as un-handy of a guy as you can get). I bet that someone with a little bit of experience could totally build a killer table for a fraction of the RH price. I’m worried that I would buy all of the wood and just totally mess it all up and still have to buy one 🙂
It will look GREAT when it’s finished, Kris. This doesn’t help but the RH warehouse sale starts this weekend in Alameda (East SF bay)…They have warehouses in the East though so there must be big sales like this there too. Just happens a couple times a year.
Oh Kris, the banquette is going to be amazing – lots of trouble, but I can’t wait to see it completed! Know whatever farmhouse table you choose will be perfect! Happy Wednesday ~
I’ve actually been eyeing 7 a lot for my formal dining room – all great choices, this space is gonna be smashing!
Would you mind sharing your plans for the banquette? We are trying to make one too. Just want to make sure we are going about it right. Thanks
Hi Gayla – believe it or not we’ve had so much going on that we we haven’t gotten any further on our kitchen banquette since this post! It’s on my to-do list to finish in February and I’ll be posting dimensions and the step-by-step how-to once it’s finished. Good luck with yours!
I’m sure you’ve seen but there is a really good sale going on at RH on tables. You have to check the current stock. Some of the tables are cheaper the bigger they get depending on stock. Good luck!
You are so super sweet to take the time to let me know that Emily! I actually lucked upon a RH pedestal table at our local RH Outlet a few weeks ago and am really happy with it!
Love these tables and the post. What do you recommend as chairs to go with them that are kid-friendly (or spill friendly!).
Thanks!
Hi Liz! Sorry for the late reply! This post has some good inexpensive chair options: https://www.drivenbydecor.com/2016/06/inexpensive-dining-chairs.html
Chair #16 in the post is one that’s very kid friendly and looks great with farmhouse tables!
Where do you find the huge pedestal base as in table #3?
Hi Molly! There are links to each of the table under the last image of the post – if you click on the “three” it will take you to the source!
Hi! Just checking to see if you ever found a salvaged wood table for your banquette. I finally bought the RH salvaged wood x base after years of eyeing. I love it, but Im scared to eat on it. Just curious if you have any tips on sealing/protecting “salvaged wood”? I was going to use Rubio monocoat bc it got good reviews on Houzz but most of those posts that relate to the table are a few years old. I now heard there is some sort of antiquing powder on it to make it look old and that the monocoat won’t bond to that. Im curious if you got your table and if so did you protect it with anything? Or do you have any tips to share about protecting an unfinished wood table? Love your blog!
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Yes I found a table – you can see the table that I ended up with and more details of how I protect it with wax in this post: https://www.drivenbydecor.com/how-seal-protect-wood-dining-table/