Last week, I came across a unique coffee table in our neighborhood thrift store. It was solid – I can’t pick it up by myself – and really cool looking, but in need of some love. It was obviously homemade, and constructed all from 2x4s, with industrial-looking bolts holding it together. I love simple, solid wooded furniture, and this table jumped out at me. We don’t have a coffee table in our living room. We have an ottoman, but my husband has had it since he was in college, and there are some stains that I just can’t get out. One of the things I liked about the new table was how solid it is. You can sit on it, put your feet on it, use it as a table – it will take a beating and still be fine.
Anyway, we bought it and brought it home on the roof of my car. I borrowed an electric sander from my parents and spent the last couple afternoons out in the driveway sanding our new table. It had been stained a dark color and varnished in a previous life. It also had a lot of deep scratches, and we prefer light wood to dark, so I wanted to sand off all of the old finish. Today I put four coats of varnish on it. We already had the varnish left over from the doors we replaced earlier in the month, so all I spent on the table is $15 to buy it and the time it took me to refinish it (which I thoroughly enjoyed, so it doesn’t really count as work). It didn’t occur to me to take a "before" picture until I was halfway finished sanding the top of the table. But you can tell from the sides what it looked like when I found it.
Kimberly says
Love that! Looks great :)
Emily says
I love that! So unique! I just finished painting my dinged up free coffee table to give it a little makeover but haven’t taken photos yet. You reminded me!
FrugalChick says
It’s beautiful! Great job.
Sandra says
wow – looks like a brand new table! :-)
Cathy says
That looks great!
Green Me says
You have a great eye! I would have totally passed that table buy with an “ugh, yuck!” A job well done :)
Anne Marie says
This looks great. I like that the sides are slightly taller/higher than the top… a few added creative ideas:
1. make a cushion or two to fit on the top between the sides, then it becomes either a bench, or a comphy large foot rest.
2. using a sheet of tempered glass that that fits on the top between the raised sides, you can create a “theme” table, placing menus, show tickets, photos, etc. under the glass. Or, if you can find a vintage scarf, that could be placed under the glass.
Lindsey@BetterAfter says
This is so cool, and totally reminds me of the coffee table we had in my house growing up, which my dad made himself. Great job!
Frugal Babe says
Thanks! I’ve found so many awesome ideas on your site this week – I love it! It’s making me look again at ho-hum pieces of furniture we already have and wonder what I can do with them…