DIY Elegant Oak Farmhouse Table
Quick answer: This elegant oak farmhouse table pairs a red oak plank top with turned English Country legs from Osborne Wood Products — the refined take on the farmhouse table, built with pocket holes and patience. Free tutorial below; the printable plans are $10, and the matching bench plans are $5.
This is the dressed-up farmhouse table — red oak instead of construction lumber, and beautifully turned English Country legs from Osborne Wood Products doing the heavy lifting on the looks. If your style runs more polished than rustic, this is the build.
Elegant Oak Farmhouse Table Plans
The complete printable PDF — full cut list, dimensioned diagrams, and every assembly step for the oak top and turned-leg base.
Tools & materials
Dimensions
Cut list
The build, step by step
Step 1
Step 2
Every dimension, the full cut list, and the printable diagrams for each step are in the plans above.
Finishing
Oak takes stain like it was born for it — even, deep, and forgiving. Seal with a durable poly; this is a table that earns heirloom treatment.
Elegant Oak Farmhouse Table Plans
The complete printable PDF — full cut list, dimensioned diagrams, and every assembly step for the oak top and turned-leg base.
Questions? Comments?
As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment below — and don’t forget to post pictures of your finished tables in the comments! ENJOY!
Hi Jamison, I’m tackling this project soon and have a question about the final finish on the table top. It looks like there is a polyurethane sealer after the stain. What type and sheen do you recommend? (oil vs water and gloss-semi gloss-satin).
Hello. Living in Florida. We have high humidity 99percent of the time. Do you ever use wood glue on the joints? Also, I’d like to attempt this plan in an 72″x 45″. How do I figure the measurements for the base? Will the 3 1/2″ legs be fine for the length of the table or use a larger leg? Thanks.
Thanks for the plans! My family is able to fit around a mutant version of your plans at 60″ square. Next up – benches. See the attachment.
That is awesome! I am digging the square version of this table. Be sure to share the benches when you are done.
Here is my attempt. It is a bit of a combination of your two farmhouse table plans. The top is red oak and the base is pine. This was my first woodworking project ever and I learned a lot!
Here’s a picture
That is super nice. What measurements did you use? I’m going to attempt making one. Maybe a little bigger than the plan shows.
That looks really good @douglasmaxwell:disqus. Nice choice on the color combo. Thanks for sharing.
Does this design allow for expansion of the table top?
Expansion of the table top wouldn’t be as much of an issue since it’s hardwood in this case. The pine base would be more likely to see some movement but overall I haven’t had any issues of my own nor have I heard of any.
I dunno about that…oak is one of the more expansive types of woods, almost twice as much as pine. Pine is more stable than oak. Oak is stronger than pine if you’re talking durability and hardness.
Now with this design it’s not as big of a deal. Since the apron supports the entire perimeter of the top, even when the screws eventually loosen, the table’s not going to collapse or anything. But if the relative humidity in the home changes then yes, things will expand and contract.
Say the table is built using oak boards at a moisture content of 10% (about what they would be if the boards are stored in an un-air conditioned space like the lumber yard) and then over several months, the wood dries to 6% moisture (air conditioning or dry winter heated air). The 33 inch width will decrease to 32.6 inches, almost half an inch narrower. The breadboard ends will stay the same (boards get narrower but not shorter when they shrink), as will the frame underneath. This cycle repeats every season and eventually the screws will work loose.
Still, I think this design would be good enough for most people especially if good quality wood is used, and the table is kept in an air conditioned space all the time!
I’m currently building this table to my custom dimensions (68″ x 40″). The pocket screws are awesome for the assembly of the top. My question is, should I be concerned with expansion between the top and the base. I was considering using metal clips that get screwed to the table top and fit into slots on the side rails to allow for differential movement between the top and base. I got mine at Osbornewood.com. Only two pocket screws on the top to the rails, one at each end, in the center. I also used the Kreg plugs and sanded them smooth. I know it’s the bottom, but it does give it a nicer look.
Thanks for any comments.
Hey Jim, I just saw that I never responded to this. I think the clips would work just as well.
I’m making a modified version of this table currently. Any suggestions to tighten the legs other than the rails? I used a cross brace but still a lot of movement. I haven’t put the top on yet, maybe that will help?
That’s odd. Normally when I use pocket holes I get a solid joint. Are you sure you didn’t over tighten. Sometimes if you over tighten it can strip out the wood causing the screw to not hold. Adding the top might help a little.2
Hi Jamison,
Came across your site recently and have been very inspired by your projects and plans. Out of all the farmhouse table designs I’ve been researching, we have unanimously voted yours as the best!
However… I have 2 questions that I hope you can help us with….
We need a 7 foot table in order to fit our 8 chairs. Besides just using longer 2 x 6 boards (maybe even 2×10’s), is there anything else you would recommend when adapting your plans for a longer table?
Second, we have large family get togethers, which lead us to drag up some other table that is not the same height, and on the shaky side. It occurred to me that perhaps some type of extensions (perhaps 2 feet long each) could be added to either end of the farmhouse table I plan to build… but I’m not quite sure what type of design to use to implement them. Do you have any tips / tricks / suggestions on accomplishing that?
Thanks so much, and keep up the great work!
Mike
I’m building a table from these plans. I’m not sure what do to about the chairs. I don’t have the skills to build them and would like to find some nice ones to go with new set. What do others do to match their table?
1. build a bench to match the table, we have plans for a farmhouse bench to match. 2. Osborne has unfinished chair kits you can purchase and finish to match your table. 3. If you are painting the base, you and refinish chairs in the same paint.
Thanks. I’m building the bench, I did not know about the chairs at Osborne. I’ll check them out. I’ll post a picture when I’m done.
Awesome. Can’t wait to see pictures.
Hi, beautiful table. Can I ask which species of wood you used for the legs? I need paint grade table legs for a similar project and I will not be needing to distress them. Thanks!
I got knotty pine because it was cheapest.
Do you have plans for the benches as well?
Sure do!
https://rogueengineer.com/diy-oak-farmhouse-bench-plans/
I’m a newbie so please excuse the stupid question. Why would you stain the legs if you’re only going to paint them white? Wouldn’t a simple coat of primer then paint do?
Not a stupid question Bill. The legs get distressed with using sandpaper to reveal the stained leg. This is subtle and in areas that natural wear would occur over time. Like edges and corners etc.