...Or just make your own furniture!

We moved things around in our living room, and ended up with a wall that needed some covering. Brian got the idea in his head to make a little coffee table-type-thing, and made this. I was a little skeptical at first, but I love it now.

There is a store in our town called ReUse. It is a thrift store of sorts, full of building materials. The people who own it go around and tear down old homes and barns and sell all of the usable materials. It's pretty cool. Brian got this barn wood for 25 cents a linear foot at ReUse. He sanded it down until it was nice a smooth, and put it together. The wood is super beat up (which we like), and the old nail holes add additional charm. There's a piece of plywood below these top boards, which are covered on the sides by additional barn wood (shown below). You can't even tell it's there, although it's what's holding the table together. It's a beautiful piece of furniture. We'll be moving from this area someday fairly soon, so I'm planning to go around and tear down those barns myself if it means that we'll be able to make beautiful pieces like this!