Some projects last way too long.

That's how we feel about this Farmhouse dining table and benches, well now just the benches.
Our table broke 2 1/2 months ago. Building our new table took a day. And 2 months later building the benches took a day. Staining was our downfall and robber of these 2 months time without a dining set. Now after much trial and error we'll remember to research more and jump right in a little less. Not our forfeit. Of course nothing educates better than firsthand experience.

We learned that polyurethane stain (stain + polyurethane mixed in) does not bond well with raw wood. We also learned that nothing dries here in our Illinios summer heat and humidity.

I'll spare you the details and more of our staining drama. Just know it does not have to be this hard. When we did it the right way it was pretty darn fast and easy. We do love how our table turned out.

And the benches should be done anyday now especially if we actually work on them :). We've pittered out on enthusiasm. Sitting to eat is overrated anyhow, am I right? JK we do have our old chairs which don't quite fit the height of our table but work.

It was exciting times for the kids while staining the table. For two weeks (mostly time spent drying inbetween the stains and restains) the kids picniced on the floor or ate at their little outdoor picnic table. And yes we had a few too many meals on the fly during that time while Heath and I slaved away. They were in cereal and hotdog heaven.

I'll try to snap a picture of the final result. I'm sure most people could make and stain these table and benches in a weekend. Wish that was our experience ;)