Hey y'all! I haven't blogged in AWHILE...like it has been weeks. I don't think that ever happens. But I also have been in what most call a "rut" between my mama going through her surgery to remove her cancer & being away from home during that time... and finding new inspiration in my home.
If you follow me on Instagram (@Allyschmidheiser) & on the Facebook page (here) for Home by Ally, you know that we recently purchased a new farmhouse table. I wasn't really planning on doing this but I fell head over heels in love with this new table. You know how you go in a store and see something you totally just died over and you kinda gasp and say "Oh my gosh... I need it." That's what happened. And did I mentioned all of this happened, including selling the new table... all while my husband, Ryan, was at work. Seriously, I work magic... I know :)
Isn't she lovely? I LOVE LOVE LOVE... have I told you how much I love her? She is so sophisticated yet rustic. Pretty yet simple. Gorgeous yet understated. And have you taken a peek at the bottom of her gorgeous gams? OMG. I still look at it and I'm like... why did it take me this long?
But if there is one thing that I have learned everyone... now listen closely. And say it with me...
"If you do not love it, do not buy it."
Just because it is pretty does not mean that you need it or even really want it for that matter. I used to buy anything and everything that was cute...and on sale. Mistake #1 and lots of lost ca$h. However, this table was SOOOOOO worth the cash. And the effort to sell my other one. My husband was upset at first but then realized we were getting another farmhouse table so he was ok after that. He shares my love of being able to have all of our family fit comfortably at one table and how easy this table functions during the holidays or even just with friends over.
Have I ever told you when Winston, our mini-doxie gets excited when we arrive home... he'll jump on the bench & onto the table just to get higher and closer to us? I love it.
The top is perfect, wide enough to have placemats & still have room in the middle where my runner is currently to place food for the holidays, etc. I'm brainstorming new ideas for a centerpiece right now. For now, I just have my little DIY box that holds my pillar candles and in the summer I put hydrangeas in. Those will also be available in my Etsy shop which you will have to stay tuned for the big opening coming soon! I hope.
The wood has a richness about it that I love and instantly was one of the first things that made me love this table. As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of WHITE. I love white curtains, white walls, white cars, white china, white sofas, you name it... I'll probably love it in white. BUT... I can appreciate something pretty such as a pretty stain, grain, wood or piece of furniture. And my BLACK Equinox :) This table is the right mix of traditional, simple and farmhouse style that I love. What do you consider your style of decor? If I had to name a style for myself, it would be "traditional cottage or traditional farmhouse." I love clean, crisp colors and cool tones. I love the richness that wood brings while I also adore anything that is crisp white. All in all, this table is exactly what my dining space needed. Temporarily, I put a small table I redid in the left corner with a huge lantern I found at HomeGoods. And to the right is my corner hutch that I also redid and has been passed down 2 generations in my family. So far, I am loving the changes and I am not done yet :)
Ok! Now onto the true post that this was supposed to be! I've been searching for a burlap runner for over a year now...to place on our old & new farmhouse table. I searched and just did not want to pay $50+ for something like that when I would say burlap at say Hobby Lobby and JoAnne's for a mere $7.99 a yard. I value homemade but this mama doesn't have a ton to spend :) I looked at this one the last time I was looking and found it to be my inspiration for this DIY project. Have I also mentioned how much I love Ballard Designs and Pottery Barn... because they give me SO much inspriation for my home:) And with inspiration comes no cost :) Ya like that, eh? Haha! This Pottery Barn one is no longer available, sad panda face :( But maybe that means I just need to have one of these available in my Etsy shop as well... what do you think?
Source: Pottery Barn
So... with some inspiration from Pottery Barn and a few other blogs... and Pinterest, I decided to make my own. I wanted to link back to these blogs...but for the life of me, I can't remember where I saw a tutorial like mine! Hopefully I find it and can link it back soon! :)
Materials
-Burlap, any color. I purchased mine from JoAnne's & it actually has a sparkle in it :) You will need to measure your dining room table length. Add 12-24 inches depending on what you want to the length of your dining room table and that is the amount of (length) that you need in burlap. I recommend having 6-12 inches hanging off each end of your runner. Example: My tables length is 84 inches. I added about 6 inches to each side. 6x2=12+84 equals about 96 inches give or take a few. I highly recommend washing your burlap before you do any of these. This will create your starting fringe and get rid of the burlap smell. I washed mine on gently cycle in warm water. I then TRIED to iron it out :) I ironed on the cotton setting if anyone is wondering.
-Measuring tape
-Scissors
-Iron with ironing board (Optional but recommended)
Step 1: You will need to decide now exactly how wide you would like your runner to be. I wanted my runner to be about 20 inches wide. So I measured from the left side 10 inches in and marked it. I did the same with the right side. The photo shows 10 inches in and where I cut the burlap. DO NOT CUT ANYTHING YET. I recommend NOT cutting this far, only about a centimeter of a cut just to know where you will start the cuts.
Step 2: Once you have marked or simply cut about a centimeter of where you will need to cut the ends, find the center string where you cut and simply pull it out like as shown below. GENTLY pull because these strings very easily break. Once you have pulled the whole string out of the length of your runner, there should be a small visible line that will serve as almost a guide to you for cutting your edges of your runner. See photo underneath this one.
Here you can see the line after I pulled the single piece of thread out. It provided me with a nice straight guide to cut and make my edges nice, clean and most importantly, straight. You will need to do this to both sides...
Once you have cut both sides and have a single cut of burlap, you are now ready to work on your ends. If you have any excess strings, cut them at your desired length.
I pulled another thread out as once again, a guide for one of my ends of my runner as shown in the photo above. I wanted about an inch of fringe on each end. Do this to both ends or to desired length.
I recommended earlier that you iron your burlap after you wash it. I must suck at ironing because mine just wouldn't iron as greatly as I wanted. But I stuck it on my table anyways... because I figured it'll fall out eventually...so drumroll please... and here she is!
So, what do you think about my no sew burlap runner? I am loving it along with our new farmhouse table. Are you going to try it? And to top that off... I didn't mean before but the burlap was $7.99 a yard... and I had a 40% off coupon. I bought a total of 3 yards rather to be safe than sorry and ending up spending only about $15.00 total...actually I lied. I also recieved an extra 20% for Veterans Day weekend sales which actually made my total for this project a mere $10. I'll take it.
Oh! And I almost forgot. I was featured this week on another military wives blog, Simply Ciani. You can find here blog here which is also the link to where I was featured! Thanks again Jennifer! I LOVE her blog... great looking home and wonderful DIY projects! Everyone head on over and "like" her FB page here and remember to hit "follow" on her blog! Thanks loves!
Oh! And I almost forgot. I was featured this week on another military wives blog, Simply Ciani. You can find here blog here which is also the link to where I was featured! Thanks again Jennifer! I LOVE her blog... great looking home and wonderful DIY projects! Everyone head on over and "like" her FB page here and remember to hit "follow" on her blog! Thanks loves!
So are you going to make your own? Let me know what you think! I would love to hear your thoughts! And do you just love our farmhouse table or what?
Talk to y'all soon!
XOXO,
Ally
Love love LOVE this table runner!!! Oh and your table is A-MAZING! Once we have a dining room big enough I want one ;) & thank you so much for mentioning me, you are too sweet<3
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find the table at? I love it and have been looking for something like it. Does it expand/How long does it get?
ReplyDeleteI made something similar to this but with linen. Its a fun project and receives lots of comments. Yours looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI'm with MamaT - I would love to know where you found that gorgeous table!
ReplyDelete???
Yes! Gonna try it! Just bought a new table and need to start decorating our new dining room!
ReplyDeleteYes! Gonna try it! Just bought a new table and need to start decorating our new dining room!
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ReplyDeleteSunday's was my track day. I've done ¼ mile rehashes as far as possible up to 3-mile rehashes. Everything relies upon what sort of race you're getting ready for. Duathlons in Wales
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