Every time the Dearest and small men go off to an Indian Guides overnight trip, I get some much-needed mommy time. I know a lot of mommies would go shopping or to the spa. What do I do?
I make tables! We have had a small round coffee table in our living room for many years, but I was getting tired of how rickety it was. Plus kids had a tendency to lean on the edges of the table, which usually meant everything got dumped on the floor and someone would be crying over the spilt food/drinks/legos (sometimes it was even the kid who knocked the table over).
So I've had it in mind to either buy or build a new coffee table, and when I found these plans over at Ana White's Knock Off Wood site, I knew it would be a perfect project to try out while the guys were all gone to Big Bear.
I took my printed out plans to the local big box store late on a Friday afternoon, hoping it wouldn't be too crowded so I could get most of the pieces cut there. Lucky for me there was a big storm blowing in because Lowes was DEAD. The workers were so bored that I eventually had six guys working with me- two to make the cuts, a couple to pick out the best wood, and two more to give me tons of tips and notes.
Once I got all the wood home, I put a tarp down in the middle of the living room floor, turned on HGTV for inspiration and got down to work. Ana's plans are GREAT. She gives you step-by-step instructions which makes building the table much easier.
I have never built anything this complicated from scratch before, but after about six hours (four on Friday night and two more Saturday morning) I had this:
Can you believe that I did it myself??? I can't!!!! I think the Dearest was a bit shocked when he got home and saw what I'd made. It's not perfect (ignore the screw that broke off and the gaps in the wood trim) but after a lot of wood putty, caulk, and sanding, it looks pretty good.
There was quite a bit of discussion over what color to paint it. I got comments 50/50 between red and espresso. We have a red wall on the staircase and some red accents in the living/kitchen so I decided to try red. What do you think?
The tops lift off and there is a ton of storage space in there. It will be a good spot for books/mags/toys....
I might spray paint these baskets to match a little better....or just get new baskets. But for now these work.
I learned A LOT building this piece. The first lesson: building it was the easy part...finishing (sanding/priming/painting) was by far the hardest thing for me. I'm a bit impatient when it comes to finishing projects and I'm so NOT a perfectionist...but some things do need to be as close to perfect as possible. Like prepping furniture for painting! Let's just say this piece looks best from far away..!
Another lesson: brush painting furniture sucks. I used a foam mini roller for the flat parts of the piece, and a foam brush for the tricky bits. I had a really hard time making sure the finish was nice and smooth. The paint was "Black Currant" from Lowes. I got a quart in a flat finish since that was supposed to help with the brush marks, and I knew I was cover the whole thing with polyacrylic for protection anyways. Using the roller and brush took a long time and was super finagle-y. I think I might try spraypainting the whole piece in the future....
Lesson #3- go with tinted primer if you are painting your furniture a dark color. I originally used white primer, but switched to a brownish Valspar spraypaint primer that Lowes sells. It made a huge difference when I started painting- the darker primer made a much better base for the red paint.
Lesson #4- Dont' forget to paint the inside of your piece! I did and was bummed when I realized that I still needed to finish the cubbys under the lids. I ended up cheating and just spray painting them with the leftover primer.
I had a lot of fun creating this little coffee table and now I'm on a huge home-improvement kick! Next project: making over a Craigslist buffet find!
Linking up to "National (not really) Take a Risk Day" at the Nesting Place
Thanks for visiting!
Sweet! I love the red.
Posted by: Leigh | March 12, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Red is so much more you than expresso. Expresso says leave me alone, I want to fit in and not be noticed. Red says "look at me" or in this case "look at what I made". Amazing job Sheree!
Posted by: Colleen | March 13, 2011 at 03:25 PM
WOW!!!! I am so impressed!! You go girl!!! You have inspired me to try to build a table I saw on Ana's site! I love the red! What would the baskets look like in espresso? Or new espresso baskets?
Posted by: KaKi McKinney | March 16, 2011 at 03:45 PM
Wow! Great job! I have seen her site before, but I've always been too afraid to try anything. What a fantastic risk! :)
Posted by: Brittany | March 21, 2011 at 09:15 PM
A risk well worth taking! Love that red!
Posted by: Bonita | March 22, 2011 at 05:11 AM
I have been working up the nerve to tackle one of Ana's plans for my first wood working experience. Your table looks so professional and well done that it totally encourages me to kick my rear into gear. Love the red color you chose!
Posted by: Gillian @ Letters to Liney | March 22, 2011 at 05:50 AM
Love the red! My son and DIL did a bench from Ana White's and they loved it. I'm impressed.
Jody
Posted by: Gumbo Lily | March 22, 2011 at 07:00 AM
Wow... great job! What a great table. And I LOVE the red. Great risk. Beautiful!
Posted by: Jennifer | March 22, 2011 at 07:19 AM
awesome...I DIG anything RED and that table looks amazing in red...especially against your couches. :)
Posted by: aubrey | March 24, 2011 at 09:30 PM
No offense, but if there's a facebook like button, it'll be much easier for me to share.
Posted by: Elliptical reviews | November 29, 2011 at 10:20 PM