DIY Charcuterie Board inspired by French Breadboards

Learn how to make a charcuterie board inspired by antique french breadboards. These DIY charcuterie boards would make a wonderful gift and are perfect for entertaining!

aged wood serving piece for charcuterie board | Maison de Pax

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

Having lived in France for several years, I am particularly passionate about mealtime. 😉 So I was thrilled when The Home Depot asked if I would partner with them to create a DIY charcuterie board as part of their holiday program.

DIY cutting boards, antique bread boards, modern charcuterie boards | Maison de Pax

Naturally, I chose to make mine to look like authentic antique French bread boards. And I think these wood serving trays would make the perfect gift! Especially this year when we could all use a little extra special connection with our loved ones.

family gathered around charcuterie board in kitchen | Maison de Pax

Catch the full tutorial in the video or read on for the step-by-step process for making these gorgeous serving boards.

How to build a charcuterie board that looks like an antique breadboard

DIY Charcuterie Board Tutorial

Materials needed for DIY wood charcuterie board:

You’ll need the following supplies to make one board approximately 1′ wide by 2′ long. To make more, simply get additional common board and hobby board.

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure.

supplies needed to build an antique french breadboard inspired DIY charcuterie board wood serving piece | Maison de Pax

You will also need the following tools. I’ve linked the ones I use, but you can use any variation of these tools to complete the project.
Note: if you don’t have all these tools available to you, don’t worry! I have an alternative option below.*

*If you don’t have a table saw or router available, you can make the simpler version with just the following supplies and tools:

supplies needed to build a diy charcuterie board for modern serving piece | Maison de Pax

TO MAKE THE BOARD:

Step 1: Cut your 1×12 to length
Using your chop saw or table saw, cut your 1×12 board to 2’. If you don’t have a wide enough saw available at home, have your board cut at The Home Depot.

Step 2: Draw your “antique” breadboard shape
Starting roughly 4” from one end, use chalk to draw a handle on the board. These are rarely symmetrical on true antique breadboards, so feel free to freehand the lines.

drawing handle on wood cutting board to make antique bread board | Maison de Pax

Step 3: Cut out your handle shape
Using a jigsaw or scroll saw, cut along your chalk lines to create a handle at one end of the board.

using jigsaw to cut out handle of antique bread board | Maison de Pax

Step 4: Drill a hole
Use your drill to make a hole in the handle of your breadboard for a true antique look.

drill hole in handle of serving board | Maison de Pax

Step 5: Smooth the edges
Using a palm or orbital sander with 60 or 80 grit sandpaper, smooth the edge of the board to give it that old, worn look.

Sanding smooth edges of a pine common board for a cutting board | Maison de Pax

TO ADD CROSS-GRAIN INSERTS (OPTIONAL):

Antique breadboards were often made with cross grain pieces for added support. You can recreate the look by routing out a small section of the board and gluing in the ¼” poplar boards. If you do not have access to a router, you can always tape off two lines and simply stain or paint them in contrasting colors to give a similar effect.

DIY cutting boards, antique bread boards, modern charcuterie boards | Maison de Pax

To achieve the antique cross-grain effect:

Step 1: Prepare your ¼” poplar

You will need TWO 1” x 11.25” pieces of the ¼” poplar. The simplest way to do this is to rip the width down to 1” using a table saw, then cut the poplar to length with your chop saw.

Step 2: Route a groove into your handled board

Divide your board roughly into thirds with two lines running short-wise across the board. Mark these lines in chalk. Set your router with a ½” straight bit to run along those chalk lines ¼” deep. Run each through twice (moving over ½” each time) to create a groove that is 1” wide and ¼” deep.

dividing wood cutting board into thirds to DIY an aged bread board look | Maison de pax
route grooves in serving board for a DIY antique french breadboard | Maison de Pax

Step 3: Install the cross-grain accents

Using wood glue and clamps (and a hammer to tap it into place if it’s a tight fit), inset the poplar pieces into the grooves cut on your board. Let dry, then sand smooth.

installing cross grain pieces into wood serving board | Maison de Pax

TO FINISH THE BOARD:

Since this board will be used for food service, you will want to finish it with food-safe, all-natural  materials. Each piece of wood and type of wood will have a different individual character, so feel free to play with your stain and distressing until you are happy with the effect. If you opted for the modern, painted option, you may prefer to skip to step 3.

Step 1: Distress your board

Have fun with this! Try chopping motions with a kitchen knife, scratches with tools, dings with hammers, and more. Make the piece as aged as you would like to give it that charming, antique look.

distressing wood serving board for authentic aged look | Maison de Pax

Step 2: Stain your board

With age, wood typically darkens, especially at knots and blemishes. Feel free to experiment with various natural stains such as concentrated coffee or tea, wine, or balsamic vinegar.

For a truly authentic look, put the darkest colors over the knot holes and places where the breadboard would have received the most use. Consider painting individual blemishes with a tiny paintbrush dipped in balsamic vinegar. This will highlight those imperfections and create a more realistic aged look.

Then finish with a light coat of your favorite stain over the entire board. Let dry.

staining diy charcuterie board with natural stains | Maison de Pax

Step 3: Seal the charcuterie board

Follow the instructions on the butcher block conditioner to seal your charcuterie board. This will provide a smooth, food-safe finish for you to enjoy.

sealing wood serving charcuterie board with butcher block conditioner | Maison de Pax

How to fill a charcuterie board:

Charcuterie boards are actually French in origin, so your “antique French breadboard” will be the perfect display piece for your next charcuterie presentation! Pile cheese, dried meats, fruits, nuts, and crackers on the board. Include some small bowls for sauces, and you have a delicious and beautiful treat.

diy charcuterie board filled with cheeses, cured meats, dried and fresh fruits, and other treats | Maison de Pax

If you’re giving these as gifts, consider including some high quality cheeses, cured meats, or dried fruit along with the serving piece to help them fill their meat and cheese board.

incredible diy charcuterie boards inspired by authentic antique french bread boards | Maison de Pax

These “antique” breadboards also make beautiful display pieces.

gorgeous antique french breadboards on display in marble kitchen | Maison de Pax

So if you know me personally, pretend you didn’t read this post because you might just be getting one for Christmas! 😉

Be sure to check out The Home Depot’s holiday gift page for more ideas of handmade gifts this holiday season.

diy charcuterie board | Maison de Pax

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10 Comments

  1. This is a great project. I have so many boards but none that have the patina I want. So this is perfect. Thanks for the great project!!

  2. If you don’t have a router or table saw but still want the cross pieces do you think it’s possible to make this using the same thickess for those pieces as the main board and connect the pieces using something like pocket holes?

    1. I love how you’re thinking, Lauren! I would be concerned about stability with such a thin piece (since it’s only 3/4″ thick), and pocket screws might be tough to hide… but it certainly couldn’t hurt to give it a try! It helps that the materials are not super expensive, so it shouldn’t be too terribly costly if it doesn’t work.

  3. What a great tutorial! I would love to try to make for gifts. What type of wood is recommended for the board? I’m not sure what you mean by “common board.”

    1. Thanks so much! Common board is just the typical white board you’ll find on the lumber aisle at Home Depot. It’s usually pine, it’s affordable, and it’s a fairly soft wood, which makes distressing it and sanding it a pretty easy job. 🙂 I hope this helps!

      1. Thank you! The white ones are actually not inserts. I just taped off two lines with painters tape and painted them on. You can see better in the video how that’s done. If you wanted real inserts, though, you could follow the instructions for the antique board and simply paint the poplar inserts. I hope this helps!

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