DIY Decorative Breadboards

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Today's post combines just about my two favorite things in the world: wood and coffee.

Not your average combination, eh? In truth, it's a pretty common one around these parts because I always have coffee nearby and I'm usually working on something wooden. Actually using them together, however, was a new experience for me!

I have always had an appreciation for old breadboards with decorative handles. Big, small, in between, I just love them. 

Photo from The French Inspired Room

Of course I fancy old, beat up boards most, but those aren't always easy to come by. 

Photo from Bohemian Homes

After drooling over these pictures, and others like them on Pinterest, I decided that some breadboards would be perfect to round out my booth at Tin Pan Alley.

I unfortunately don't have pictures showing how I cut the boards. This was one of those projects that popped into my head and was finished in an hour because I was so excited about it. Does that ever happen to you? One minute the light bulb flickers on, and the next you're elbow deep in saw dust - or in this case, coffee grounds and mineral oil!

I bought a four foot long 1"x6" maple board (it is sold by the foot and was not cheap, so I decided to start small until I knew what I was doing!), and cut it into one foot long pieces. I sketched out a few simple favorite handle designs on some paper, folded it in half and cut it out. From there it was simply a matter of tracing the design and cutting it out with my scroll saw. 

Here they are cut, sanded, and ready to be prettied.

One of the things I was a bit concerned about when starting this project was in how to darken the color of the boards. I knew stain wasn't an option because no stain in my price range is food safe. What to do? 

Then I thought about my teeth. Yes, my teeth. I have used whitening toothpaste and strips for years because of all the darned caffeine I drink. That was my answer - coffee! 

It's food, so food safe it is!

I took the filter right out of the pot (it was cool of course), and went to work rubbing it over my cleaned breadboards.

My mouth is watering just looking at that. I have a problem.

The difference isn't a very drastic one, but the coffee enriched the color and brought out the grain beautifully. I'm sure they will darken over time with use as well. 

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! I'm excited to experiment with more sizes and different types of wood for future bread and cutting boards. 

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