The table I’ve been talking about
Folding Farmhouse Table Plans are here!
Stack and store this table with ease.
I spent hours searching for the perfect plans (Spoiler alert, the plans I needed but couldn’t find are here). I needed tables and seating, badly. I was loving seeing the farmhouse tables that were being featured at weddings and long table events. But there’s no way I was going to be able to rent them. First of all, no one around me has them for rent. Then I ran into the issue of space. I had watched a few weddings set up and the absolute disaster of stacking tables/chairs/benches was absurd. There had to be something better. So to Pinterest I went. And then Google… and I struck out over and over. Everyone had a Farmhouse plan, but none of them looked easy to store.
You see I don’t have a fancy storage barn. At the time I designed and built these tables, I was living in a camper. Taking up valuable space inside the shop while our house was being built. The building where our events take place on the ranch does double duty as winter storage and I needed to be able to fit other things under the cover. I kept scouring the internet and started figuring out what I loved about the farmhouse tables (hello chunky legs, and plank style top), and then put in the time to figure out the mechanics of making it fold. I enlisted help from someone who has a lot more experience than I do in building, and with his help was able to hone in on exactly how this was going to work.
After several adjustments, like not having aprons to save on weight, it seemed perfect. You can trust that I know these things are sturdy enough to dance on. Sturdy does mean that you need a friend to help you set it up. But I wanted these to store neatly, transport easily, and seat a minimum of 8 people. So in between dance parties on top of the prototype table, I got to business. This table does not require advanced tools or techniques. If you’ve been doing any DIY, have a drill and a saw, then you’re capable of making this table and bench set. The plans have a complete list of what I used, but the best part about the folding farmhouse table and benches is that they are designed to be rustic! It doesn’t have to be perfect to be functional, just embrace the character.
I managed to master the pocket hole jig after 16 table tops were assembled (you’ll see why when you get the plans). Thank God for YouTube because it made absolutely no sense in my brain and I had no idea how to use the KregJig tool. YouTube is the best thing for learning any tool! I’m not one to go into something lightly, so of course I couldn’t have just one table, I needed 16 tables and 32 benches. This rapidly tested my ability to finish out a project. But I had a deadline, and by the skin of my teeth I got them done on time. I divided the work up over several weekends. First, working on cutting out all the dimensional lumber, then assembling each component itself (table legs, table top, bench legs, etc). If you are only building one folding farmhouse table set, you could absolutely get this project done in a weekend. It came in so handy to store the table away during the winter and it didn’t take up much room. For the event space I stacked the tables and benches (nestled in to each other like they’re designed to do) 8 high on pallets, and moved them with the forklift.
Watch the farmhouse table plans go from storage stacked neatly to unfolded and ready for use in just a few minutes.
After using the tables for the entire season I definitely found some adjustments on how to make them last longer, and I enjoyed the stacking feature we built in. It’s like a dress with pockets… a folding farmhouse table is nice. A folding farmhouse table who’s benches stack neatly in it, is the only thing you’ll want to mention. After learning all the tweaks, and taking the time to source the exact materials I used, the plans are finally complete! You can click through to the exact hinges that fit hidden behind the 4x4 legs (I couldn’t find that size at my local hardware store), and I show you which pocket hole screws I used because you’ll overpay if you buy the name brand. It’s all together in 20 pages of measurements, diagrams, and step by step instruction on how I assembled the tables.
