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!
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.
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.
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.
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- 2 ft of 1×12 common board
- Chalk
- ¼” poplar hobby board
- Wood glue
- Natural stains, such as tea, wine, and balsamic vinegar (paintbrush)
- Butcher block conditioner (clean rag)
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.*
- Jigsaw or scroll saw
- Drill and 3/8” drill bit
- Orbital or Palm Sander
- Table saw
- Router with ½” straight bit
- Various small tools for distressing
*If you don’t have a table saw or router available, you can make the simpler version with just the following supplies and tools:
- 2 ft of 1×12 common board
- Chalk
- Painter’s tape
- White paint (+ paintbrush)
- Butcher block conditioner (+ clean rag)
- Jigsaw or scroll saw
- Drill and 3/8” drill bit
- Orbital or Palm Sander
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.
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.
Step 4: Drill a hole
Use your drill to make a hole in the handle of your breadboard for a true antique look.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
These “antique” breadboards also make beautiful display pieces.
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.
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!!
It’s also fun to ‘rough’ it up! I’m glad it inspired you!
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?
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.
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.”
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!
These are so pretty. I love the angled top and cross grain accents. You make it look so simple!
Thank you so much, Amy!
These are beautiful. How do you make the white inserts on the more modern looking board?
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!