Reclaimed Wood Table: Project!

Look at what was left against an apartment building wall with "Free" on it? It's a solid wood door with some mullioned glass at the top. When K and I saw this last week, we stopped in our tracks and started knocking on it. "Is it solid?" I wondered? (K knocked a few times.)
  "I don't think it's solid, it sounds hollow," said K. 
  "That's because it's leaning against a wall, silly!" said I.
  "So is it solid?" asked K. 
  "Yes, I believe it is!" said I, after inspecting the edges.
A couple days later, it was leaning against the side of OUR apartment. "It's definitely solid," K texted me, after carrying the found door to our place. "The thing weighs a ton!"
  When I got home from work, we pondered the door. I had an idea when I first saw it and I shared it with K. "I think it would make a really cool table..." said I.
  "That's exactly what I was thinking!" said K. Well, great minds think alike, do they not?
So on Saturday, while I was busy at work, K and his dad got the door over to his parent's house. Before I got to his parents' house, the top portion of the door was cut off. It was to be the table top. The rest of the door was to make up the side leg supports. When I arrived, K looked a little sweaty (it was hot & humid) and concerned and asked me to come over to where the work on the door was being done. Dad was inside at the moment. "My dad wants to go to the store and buy legs to put under the top. I told him I wanted to use the rest of the door to create the supports, but he doesn't have his table saw out, and we can't make them without it." I sympathized with him. It's hard when you don't have your own tools, and you're at another's mercy. I went inside to grab a bite to eat, as I hadn't had lunch yet and was starving. While K's mom made me a tuna salad sandwich, and I wolfed it down in a very unladylike fashion, K's parents' friend, Pete, a carpenter, just happened to swing by. The next thing I know, Pete's running back to his house for tools, and a table saw, and the plan is back in action! The next time I came out was to consult on using the section of the door with the handle cutouts for the center support, which I agreed would be a good use for that piece of wood. The last time I came out, it was done!

It turned into a wonderful table from an old, discarded door. Pretty cool, right? Pete, Al and K all did a fabulous job making our vision a reality. We love our new porch table!


The next step is for me to sand it down, and then finish it. I had tested out a cream colored milk paint, on the last piece of wood left from the door. They used all pieces from the door for this project, which I just love. So with the one remaining panel, I've been testing finishes. Here's the cream milk paint, with Butcher's wax over it.

Cream milk paint wash with wax over it.

I like how the grain pops with the contrast. However, when I just sanded the wood and then added the wax, it turned out very warm in color. We both feel like that's the right way to go with this table. So I sanded the top today, and will work on the rest of it this week. After I get it waxed, I'll show you the final results!


I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend for those in the US. For everyone else, I hope you had a wonderful regular weekend!