Thursday, July 1, 2010

Coffee Table Construction

We needed a coffee table in our new house because frankly who wants to keep looking at a rubbermaid tub sitting in front of the couch. We looked around and didn't find anything at the thrift shops (they are pretty sad in this part of the country). I found several options I liked from Pottery Barn but the prices always stop me dead in my tracks. So we decided to build our own, or rather I roped Matt into helping me build our own. (Imagine the couch with a white slipcover please).
My inspiration comes from this table but I didn't think the galvanized top would be too safe due to sharp corners. In order to solder them you need heavy duty equipment and not the little soldering tools you can buy for stained glass work. So that option was out. Over at knockoff wood, Ana has plans for this table. We modified the plan to angle the legs and put in a bottom shelf like the other table. It is really a jumble of things but Ana should get some credit for helping me figure out how to make the top.
Pictures outside so you can actually see the table better. Sorry for the crooked picture.

I distressed the wood after we finished using a hammer and screw driver. We decided to leave the screws exposed as well to give it a more rustic feel. I stained it using two different colors from Varathane, Provencial and then Spring Oak. It has an aged pine look like I was hoping for.
The dimensions are 48" long, 18" tall, and 24" wide. This is one sturdy coffee table! Barnsley can run into it and it stands still. Good thing to have with a rowdy Labrador around. Our supplies are a little difficult to estimate since we used some wood from previous projects. I think it comes in around $65. That includes the screws, wood stain, glue, sand paper, etc. Let's see, that is a savings of $534.00 from the table I wanted to buy! That makes all the sweating in my hot garage worth it.

4 comments:

  1. good grief girl ... could you come and makeover our house?!? (or apartment in another month?)

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  2. AHHHHHHHHH! You are just amazing, Laura! Such a beautiful table.

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  3. Oh this is gorgeous! Great work. :)

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  4. Wow! Great job! I really like the wood you chose and the color too :)

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