Tutorial: Herringbone Side Table

From the Cottage Side Tables,

it seemed most people liked the Blue Herringbone one the best.

So some tips to make your own herringbone fronted side table!

For the sides of this table, I used reclaimed fence boards.

I cut them to size and finished them before constructing the box.  I wanted to keep the distressed look and original mineral deposit stains from the sprinklers, but add the blue wash to it.

1. The raw wood was first sanded a little to create a new surface

2. I dilluted blue paint with 1/2 paint, 1/2 water and just painted a layer on top.

3. I used old rags to wipe some of the blue wash off in varying areas to create a weathered, white washed, blue-tinged finish.

To construct the sides of the box using planks, I used the Kreg Jig to create pocket holes so they could be joined parallel to each other.

Below you can see the vertical pocket holes connecting each layer to the next to build the solid box side or back.

The white arrows and pocket holes are the functional pocket holes to connect the finished side to the 2x2 corner posts.

The front of the box had 1x2 space strips on top and bottom.

The bottom of the box was a piece of left over pine that attached to with pocket holes on the bottom of the box, so they're hidden underneath where you never look. 

HERRINGBONE DOOR DETAIL

To make the door, I used 1/2" MDF as the base.  I cut 1" MDF strips for the border.

To figure out the herringbone pattern, I started with a paper square of the open space on the door I wanted to fill.

I mapped out the herringbone pattern, labeling each piece with a letter. 

I chose to off set the herringbone so it didn't create a clean zig-zag.

I used my map to cut the wood, cutting out each piece, and trimming it down slightly to account for the space needed between the wood.  I basically cut out all the pen, so the pieces were borderless and making each piece a scant 1/16" smaller on each side.

I had a rotting piece of 1/4" thick lathe strip on the side of our house.  I traced each individual piece and cut them out. 

 I made sure they'd all fit in the puzzle, having to trim and adjust a few.

I finished each piece first, adding the watered blue paint finish, slightly wiping the center of each trapezoid.  This left the sides of each piece with a stronger blue fading into the center.

The door front was painted a solid blue first, then I just used wood glue to attach all the little trapezoids into my herringbone pattern.

The door was attached with cupboard hinges and I found a butler pantry latch for closure, which was originally brass and I spray painted it oil rubbed bronze.