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Transforming a Vintage Cutting Board

February 5, 2014



CREATE   |   Published February 5, 2014





Old wood has a quality that is really hard to recreate.  There is a special place in my heart for vintage cutting boards, wooden boxes, barnwood.....it all has so much character.    And the interesting thing about old wood is that the more worn, the more distressed, the more used it is, the better it gets.  Cutting boards are the ultimate because they are naturally used and beat up!



| DIY project inspired by Pottery Barns Wooden Pedestal |




I found this cutting board at a consignment shop and after mulling over whether I REALLY needed it, up to the cash register I went.  It has that great patina and color that only comes from years of use and abuse.  It had been handmade in an interesting shape, too, which just adds to the charm in my book!




| DIY project inspired by Pottery Barn |



(And yes, in the background of this picture is the cupboard I'm supposed to be painting....and no, I haven't started it yet!)



Pottery Barn has a great wooden pedestal....basically a reproduction wooden cutting board with legs.  I knew that my cutting board could look every bit as good as theirs and I'm thrilled with the finished product!  The Pottery Barn version has imperfections added, but the real imperfections already exist on mine!  These pedestals are great for serving food, used for display, or for all of you bloggers out there, I'm thinking it is a great piece for all the staged photos we take!






So here is what I did......







Luckily I had some little wooden legs at home from a previous project, although I don't actually remember what they had come off of!  You could find something like this in the woodworking section of Lowes or Home Depot.



The legs got a good sanding to remove the glossy finish.  You may notice that I didn't sand down to the bare wood over the entire leg......I left some areas with a little stain on them because I though having some nice differences in stain color would give them a little patina and make them look older.







For some reason, the person who made this board attached a round board on to the bottom of the cutting board.....I guess it was to make it a little more stable?  It was attached with nails and I figured that the pieces would come apart with just a little prying.  What I didn't count on was the massive amount of glue that was also added to keep the pieces together.  To get it all apart, I had to literally dig around the nails to pry them out, and then used a screwdriver and hammer to pull the boards apart.  After all the pounding and prying the round board broke off into a couple pieces and left the cutting board intact.  (As I was doing all this pounding and prying my biggest fear was that I would break the actual beautiful cutting board in half.)








Using wood glue, I glued the four legs onto the bottom of the cutting board, making sure that they were equally spaced so that the cutting board would sit flat.







Then I used my favorite stain, strong instant coffee, to brush over the legs.  I let the coffee just soak into the wood rather than wiping it off.



My biggest worry with this project was that it would look like I stuck four new legs on the bottom of an old cutting board.  It is so hard to replicate the color of aged wood.  But I really don't think you can tell a difference now that the piece is done.







So what do you think?


| Anderson & Grant |





Look at the natural cuts and scratches in the wood....aren't they great?  Another great "handmade" feature is the little metal piece in the center of the board holding it all together.  There are some on the opposite side, too.



| Anderson & Grant |



| Anderson & Grant |


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anderson+grant is a lifestyle blog dedicated to helping you to create a slower, simpler home with contemporary style.

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