Up-cycled Table is First Project of 2015

The weekend after New Year's, we realized that for the first time in four +/- years, we had "nothing" to do. The holidays were over, no one's getting married here this summer, the kitchen shelves are done . . . so what's a creative, cute, 50-something couple to do? We took a field trip to the Furniture Mart for inspiration, and decided that the connector entryway needed a small table. And since my husband has such a nice tool collection, I figured he could make a table that would fit the bill. It was so fun to work together on the design and construction of this one-of-a-kind table. Check it out!

We began with the legs.

You may remember this table as a post on the blog's "Archaeology" page. It's an old kitchen table with a wonky top and faded layers of paint that spent a few decades in the barn. We thought about using it for a guest book table at The Wedding but it was a little too far gone. I thought it would be neat to scavenge two of the legs for our new entryway table. (Spoiler alert:  it works out great!)

We disassembled the table by removing the top and unscrewing the legs from the apron. One leg was worn down a few inches short and one leg had some pretty deep chew marks, so we set them aside and moved forward with the two in decent condition. The table would be secured to the wall with screws, and the two refurbished legs would support the front edge. 

Stripping and refinishing the legs would have been extremely time consuming, and there was no guarantee that they would look good. Scott had the idea of brushing on a light coat of Recycled Glass, the paint I used in the pantries. This technique allowed the elephant-hide scaling of the weathered paint to shine through while making the legs look finished in a refined-rustic way (if that is indeed a thing.) Note: the leg at left was my "practice leg" which was approved for production by the boss.

Then We Made the Top

Scott agreed to use one of the 12" wide oak boards we had in stock, leftover from the colonnade project. He cut it down to 40" wide for this table with the chop saw.

I suggested creating a curve which matched the original of the aforementioned kitchen table. On one end of the oak, Scott traced around one of the original boards. For the other end, he created a stencil with a piece of tracing paper, then drew on the board from the reverse side. The result was the same curve profile on each end of the oak plank.

The curves were cut and exposed by using the jig saw.

Next, the router took a turn, creating a beveled edge.

Post router; you can see the replicated shape of original table.

A little fine sanding . . . 

. . . then I got to do the staining. We used the same leftover cabinetry stain that Scott used on the recent kitchen shelves project.

Meanwhile, Scott worked on the top's apron.

He used the chop saw to literally chop the table top's support system in half. The new back of the table was created from a leftover piece of pine, nailed into place.

Small pine blocks were added to each corner. Screws sent through these blocks will secure the table top.

The table top was finished with two coats of Scott's favorite spray-on, quick-dry lacquer.

Because the table would be attached to the wall, we added a hole and grommet to allow for a lamp cord. Scott used the drill press with a Forstner bit to create the hole.

This little plastic grommet is the only thing we bought new for this project. This less-than-$2 expense has to be some sort of low-cost record for us.

After a little adjustment and a little drilling, the top and legs were attached to the table apron. It was time to take it upstairs and install!

After locating the stud, Scott screwed the table to the wall.

Ta Da!

Our new little table! 

This lamp was in the great room but is the perfect size for the narrow table. The excess cord is hidden neatly under the top. Even though we have yet to decide what to hang on the wall above, we are really pleased with the way the table warms up the entry way.  Stop by and see it sometime!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!