Custom Farmhouse Console

Handy Hubs and I received our first custom furniture order in early August. One of our coworkers and his lovely wife sent me a photo from Pinterest (where else?) and asked if we would be able to create them something similar for their new home. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity build something new and unique for their family. The most exciting part? Sliding Barn Doors! I had been wanting to build something with them and pending my new Pantry door, this was to be my first opportunity.

Once we discussed dimensions, color, stain and hardware options, handy hubs and set forth on gathering the supplies to build. We used quality pine lumber for everything but the back panel, where we used 1/4″ plywood cut down to 8″ wide strips. To ensure that the top boards attached securely, handy hubs added 45 degree angles in each corner of the top framing. We move furniture around enough to know that everyone picks up heavy pieces by the top boards and we wanted to ensure that if they did so it would hold true.

For the sliding bar door hardware, we purchased galvanized metal pulley’s from the local hardware store and disassembled them to remove the wheel. We also purchased 1 1/2 ” flat steel bar, 3/4″ metal spacers which we cut from metal rod, and a variety of hex bolts, washers and screws.

To achieve that old time rusty hardware look, we applied vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide to the hardware and left it in the sun for several hours. This could be achieved in a few different ways, or we could have painted the hardware as well.

The top boards and the back panel pieces were stained Provencial stain color and sealed with wipe on poly so that they would be protected, but not shiny. The remainder of the console was painted Indigo by Sherwin Williams.

Now, once I painted the console, I was a little intimidated with the boldness of the Indigo color. I felt that the piece needed some more depth, some roughening up – I reached out to my coworker and shared my thoughts and some ideas I had to bring out some texture and depth in the piece. This led to a few more paint purchases and a little bit of elbow grease. I dry brushed two lighter tones of Indigo into the wood, used sandpaper to roughen the edges and the wood here and there. Then, I used the rust mixture from the hardware that had turned all orangy-brown and rubbed it into those corners and edges of the console that I had sanded to bare wood. Once everything was painted and textured, I applied a clear spray finish over the entire piece. This will protect the paint and allow the piece to be dusted, washed off and ensure that the finish lasts.

This project turned out so well that we are ready to build one for our home as well!

If you are interested in a custom unique furniture piece or one like this, drop us a line or contact us on Facebook!.

The original plans that we used on this build are located on Ana White’s Page ( you will need to scroll down to get to the actual plans). We modified these plans to fit the dimensions that our coworker had requested and added a couple custom changes as well.