Table is finished

Last week when I posted, I had built all the basic parts, but I still needed to do the sanding, painting and detailing.  First thing I did was choose the graphics for across the top --I got this one from The Graphics Fairy, which is where I found my last vintage typography as well.  This time I went for an American theme:

I got the image transferred to the table top with a overhead projector, and sketched it out in pencil.  I then went over it with a fine brush and black acrylic paint.  After that, I sanded the text down so it had a little bit of a vintage look, as if it had been on an old crate.









After that, I gave it two coats of stain - the same stain I used on the trim of our kitchen cabinets, so it would be harmonious with them.   Then I had to let that dry for a day before applying 6 coats of spar varnish, letting each dry and then sanding lightly before applying the next coat.

In the meantime, I sanded, primed and painted the base.

For the first black coat, I used some leftover paint from the outside furniture.  After that dried well, I sanded it and then applied a coat of black satin spray - the same paint I used on the old table.  I like the finish -- not too shiny, but a nice, deep black (this picture is of the initial coat of slightly off-black paint).

And this is of the deeper Rustoleum satin finish black.

Then I glued and screwed the base to the top from underneath.









I actually finished the coats of varnish earlier in the week but I wanted to let the topcoat harden a bit before I brought it in, because I know a couple of cats will waste no time walking across it with their tippy tappy toes.

 

I applied a coat of paste wax so hopefully we won't get too many nicks in the finish.  I will say that the last table looked brand new when we sold it, so all these layers seem to do the trick.

Oh, I sure wish that ugly air conditioner was gone!  We've got to replace the window to get rid of it.....

Now I need to finish the cushion for the bench seat. I have the pieces all cut and partially sewn - but with the rain today, I am enjoying just watching old movies on TV and snacking on Girl Scout cookies!  Maybe I'll get to it later tonight!

Note added:  If you want to build a table like this yourself, you can check out my plans at ana-white.com here.

Table

We ended up selling our kitchen table - the one I made from a Craigslist Free find.  As a reminder, here's how it looked:

I really liked the table, but in our remodeled space, it was too large.  I wanted something a little smaller, and actually, I really like rectangular tables more.  So I ended up selling it on Craiglist for a hundred bucks.  Not bad.  Anyway, then I was keeping an eye out for something free/cheap, and hadn't found anything yet.  I did see a couple of nice tables that might work, but knew I'd have to cut them down somewhat, and I hate to do that to a nice antique table. :)

Dale and I saw some really cool pipe base tables, and thought we might really enjoy that look in our kitchen.  So we sketched out a plan and went over to Lowe's to buy the pipe.  As we loaded the pieces into our cart, we were a little shocked at the prices -- and then we decided to add up the total before we made a decision, and the pieces came up to 144 dollars -- way beyond what we wanted to spend (and that only included the base!).










Luckily, I had pinned another table that I really liked -- and I knew I could make a replica of this WAY cheaper.  Here's the image I pinned:

Nice style, but too much oak, and the price....well, we're not buying that table! 



But I know I can make it.  Luckily, I had some maple plywood left over from my shelves, and it was just about the right size.  I added a lip around with 1x2 pine--






 I built the base from 4 x 4s for the legs, and some 1x4 slats on the side.  A center brace of a 2x4 -- and a lot of leftover trim from our previous work around the house. 

We spent a total of 40 dollars on wood and that's much better for me.  I still have some sanding (even out the wood filler on the nail holes and trim, stain the top, paint the base and then assemble it.  But so far, it's looking good!

 We went with squares instead of circles on the ends -- we used 3 slats across instead of 4, and the circles would have been a challenge.  Plus, we have a lot of squares with the tile pattern so I thought this would match up better.  I like the proportions, it'll fit nicely in our space. Just wide enough for us!

Little Stack Table No. 2

What the heck, I'm going to work on another one.  I decided last night that I would use up some of my decorative tins and metal scraps to cover the littlest table.  So I took it apart last night and got the legs painted so that this morning, I could just cut the tabletop and get started.  I cut the metal into random shapes and nailed them down to the plywood base.  After it was done, I used some black paint to "antique" it a bit - it helps pull the pieces together.

I didn't get any shots in progress, I had to go to my office to get the metal scraps and I was just enjoying the peace and quiet.  But, when I got home, I had to flip the top over to pound down all the nails and I knew I'd have to cover that mess with some fabric so my cats don't get their fur all stuck in there!

I had a scrap of corduroy so I turned the edges under and stapled it along the frame.

then I screwed the legs back on and brought it in to join the other table.

 

This one's pretty busy - but I like that style.  Dale will not be so happy with this, however.  I'm thinking that the last table, the biggest one, I'll do a mosaic top.

The cats approve!

Table Project

I bought this set of Ikea tables at a garage sale for 15 dollars.  It's a handy set of little side tables, but I never really liked the color of the bases, and the thickness of the tops.  I've been wanting to redo them for a while, so I thought maybe if I tackle one at a time I can get these done.  I don't really need them to match, so doing them at different times will give me the ability to think of different designs!

For the first one, I am redoing the middle table.  I have a bunch of yardsticks I inherited when I got my new job - because I also had about 2 dozen metal yardsticks, I decided these would be best liberated to work for my project.

The red one is actually a new one I got at Lowe's and tinted red with some acrylic paint.  I wanted a bit of color on this tabletop.  I started by taking the top off the table - turning it over, it was held on by 8 screws underneath.

 

After I took off the top, I removed the four plastic tips from the bottom of the legs, and used Krylon Satin spraypaint to paint it black.

 

I gave it several coats and let it dry all afternoon.  Meanwhile, I cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to fit the top.  The old one was flush with the sides, and that's what I wanted, so I measured and then subtracted the thickness of 2 yardsticks that I was going to use as a frame.

Then I cut my yardsticks on the chopsaw as I went.  I wanted a modified log cabin pattern, so I started in one corner and worked across.

While I was cutting the rulers, some of them were thicker than others, so I shimmed up the thinner ones with strips of the wooden blinds that I bought for the guest room.  Making the blinds fit to size, I had a lot of leftover wooden strips that I knew would come in handy for something - and they did!  When I got this part all done, I gave it two coats of spar varnish.

After it dried, I reattached the metal base to the wooden top, making sure it was centered correctly.  I cut strips of yardsticks to frame out the top, hiding all the cut edges.  And then I gave it two more coats of varnish.

Mercury approves!  He's wearing his harness, because I took him out on his leash this afternoon.

I'm thinking one the the other tops might look good with hammered metal from old tins.  I think I'll keep the bases all black, which will help make them work as a set.

Table makeover

I have been scouring Craigslist for a dresser to convert into a vanity for our bathroom, but we need a pretty specific size, and I have some things on my wishlist for it (curvy front, long legs, drawers on each side, not just down the middle), so nothing's fit my requirements yet.  However, I did see a kitchen table (another thing I've been looking for) - and the price was right - FREE.  So Dale and I drove over & picked it up on Saturday morning. 



 It's a pretty small round table (42" diameter), but with the leaf in, it measures closer to 5', and so that works for our kitchen. 









 It's nice enough oak with a claw foot pedestal, but the top was in real rough shape --







So I took the sander to it and got the top all sanded down to bare wood.





Painted the pedestal a nice satin black (along with the apron of the table)







Projected an image of a French Chocolate ad from Graphics Fairy on the tabletop.

(this is not my original idea - I am copying from a table I saw on another blog I read: Red Hen Home)

Painted this with black acrylic paint --

Distressed the lettering a bit with sandpaper, then gave it two coats of Antique Walnut stain.  This is the first coat going on --   

Second coat finished, and first of 6 coats of hand-rubbed Poly.









Put it back together and now it's in my kitchen!

Sigh. It looks so nice, it makes the kitchen look even worse!  I think I need some black chairs to go around it - maybe an assortment of mis-matched chairs with matching fabric seats, all painted black.