At our charming little nook in Logan Village Mall, Noblesville, Indiana, we decided it was time to shake things up! Our snug store had a vast open space just begging for some love. With all our handcrafted treasures neatly hanging on French cleat shelves, we thought, “Why not give this space a personality?”

We tried plopping down a collapsible table with a sunny sunflower tablecloth—adorable, right? But alas, it just didn’t scream ‘family flair’ or ‘handcrafted goodness.’ Time for creativity to kick in! Our budget might have been as tight as a bug in a rug, but that didn’t stop us. A local big box store beckoned us in, and we left with the classic hero of building materials: good ol' Pine 2x4x8s!

This is Ash lumber that was salvaged from structural beams in a collapsed, 125 year old barn. We made a breakfast nook table top to replace the commercially-purchased table made from wood-like material. We used epoxy to provide a nice surface while giving strength. With some bow ties and a little bit of universal dye, we felt like we had a great symphony, rot, wormholes, and all!

These two tables’ tops were made from what we originally figured to be scraps from milling some Black Walnut logs. Because the pieces were still sizeable, we didn’t want to throw them into the burn pile. So we put them in the kiln with everything else in hopes that someday we would find a use for them. Well? That day came!

When I saw Leopardwood for the first time, I can only think about my mother-in-law as she is a BIG fan of leopard print. She had some nice Adirondack chairs, but no place for her drink, book, or phone. So we solved the problem with these twin tables made of Leopardwood and White Oak. The tables are finished with five layers of Spar Urethane (thinned and unthinned).