Friday, September 9, 2011

honey, I shrunk the table.

One thing we noticed after moving into our new place is our lack of a coffee table. We both like square coffee tables, so I figured we’d eventually pick one up from Ikea. Then, as I was laying in bed one night, an idea hit me. I already had a small Norden Ikea dining room table that had just been sitting in my garage for the last year.

We thought about just giving it away before we moved since we wouldn't need it, until I realized the top of it is the exact shape and size of the coffee table we were envisioning. Eureka!! (Can you guess where I'm going with this?) These were some of my favorite Ikea versions:

Ikea Hemnes

Ikea Klubbo
Tony liked my idea of saying "adios!" to the dining table, and "hola!" to a coffee table. As I walked out into the garage one morning, I found him sawing the table legs down to 16” a piece. Luckily, I caught him in the act so I was able to snap a few pictures of the process.


After the legs were cut, he used his sander to smooth the edges down on the bottom. You can really tell the difference between the leg that’s been sanded and the other legs in the second picture.



Once he was done sanding down all four legs, he re-attached them to the table. VoilĂ , a coffee table is born!


Next he got to work staining the table black. We got a stain that contained polyurethane, so it would give the table a nice glossy finish for easy cleaning, since we do a lot of our eating in the living room.



After two coats of stain, we let it dry overnight and then moved it into the living room. It ended up being a little darker than we thought it would. It looks more like a solid black paint than a stain, but it works because it matches the kitchen table. Overall, it was a great way to re-purpose something we already owned instead of buying something new.


All it needs now is a centerpiece. I've had my eye on this decorative Ikea Stockholm bowl for a few years now. Maybe it's time I take the plunge and buy it?? Last time I went to Ikea I noticed it finally went down from $29.99 to $19.99, so I should probably "strike while the irons hot". It'd be great to stash remotes and other random coffee-table things in.
I wonder what we can take the saw to next…

4 comments:

  1. You are so crafty, I'm way too lazy to do something like that, I'd probably just buy a new one. Good job!

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  2. wow you guys are too good at this, you should have a decor show!!

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  3. Well it has been my lifelong dream to be a reality star! Haha. Actually I can't take the credit, i get most of my ideas/inspiration from younghouselove.com. You should check out that site, i'm so addicted and i love the couple that writes it. I want to be like them!

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