Table Talk

I think I have more tables in my house than any other type of furniture!  I have end, coffee, dropleaf, farm, tea, and bedside tables all throughout my house.  Some I inherited, others I helped make, and some were even purchased.

Two of my favorites are one that I helped make, a tiger maple tea table in our living room, and the other is a rustic coffee table that I purchased from The Vintage Source.

I've always loved tiger maple.  There is just something about the swirling grain and color variations in the wood that gives it a warm mellow feel.  And when you give it a simple hand rubbed finish, that gorgeous grain pops out at you giving it instant age and patina even if it's a brand new piece.  So when my parents decided to build a few tea tables and asked if I wanted cherry or tiger maple, for me it was a no brainer.

Tiger maple is known as a "figured" wood meaning that the grain of the wood grows in a very distinctive pattern, it almost resembles waves.  When this particular type of maple is cut across the grain, it reveals the unusual grain pattern which has an almost iridescent quality to it.  Simply sanding tiger maple will not fully reveal the grain, it requires finishing techniques to help accentuate the beauty of the wood.

I love the delicate legs on this table and the little "spoon" feet.

See how interesting the grain is with tiger maple?!  I love how it almost has a 3-D effect.

For such a small table, it has lots of character like the curved top and this beautifully cut apron.  My parents actually built this table, but I finished it with a hand rubbed finish of Tung Oil.

Another table in my house that I really love is one I picked up at The Vintage Source last year.  We were knee deep in renovations at the time and when I showed up at home with "more" furniture for a house that had stuff shoved everywhere, my husband looked at me like I had finally lost my mind.

I really had no idea where we would store it until after the reno was over, and I also had no idea where it was going to go once the house was completed, but I did know that I loved everything about this little rustic table!

I fell in love with the wide pine boards that were used to make the top.  

And how perfectly imperfect it was with it's gouges, nicks, and burn marks.  It's lived life and I love that!

And I loved how the legs reminded me of a little picnic table.  It now hangs out in a little sitting area just off our our kitchen and the table provides the perfect place to put a cup of tea, hold my magazines, or just a place to kick your feet up and look out the windows.

I'm always inspired and amazed by how a simple piece of wood can be transformed into a useful and beautiful piece of furniture!  It's like bringing a piece of nature indoors to love and cherish for years to come.

To see more great furniture head on over to Miss Mustard Seed's for Furniture Feature Friday.

 And

For more inspiring things visit The Inspired Room.