The office space I'm designing calls for two tables: one for the conference room, and one for general use. They need to be big, seating between six and eight. Good looking, durable tables of that size tend to be costly. We could probably score some corporate cast offs on sale, but that doesn't feel right stylistically. This client is hip, and--hooray!--amenable to taking on some DIY. So I suggested we craft our own.
As we're going for a kind of organic modern aesthetic, we decided to do wood tops. Plywood is a bit too rustic, and crafting one of wood panels is beyond our skill set. Luckily, we've got an Ikea close by. Their Numerar countertops are solid wood, and will make a handsome top once stained.
Of course, we'll need to do a little tinkering. The Numerar is standard countertop depth--about 25.5"--which is too narrow for our needs. So for each table we'll buy two, and have them cut down to 18" wide and to the length we need. Joining the pieces together will require some glue, clamps, screws and patience. We'll be following this tutorial from Our Big Yellow House and this one from Apartment Therapy closely. But in the end, we should end up with two 36" wide tabletops: the perfect size for the space.
Once the tops are done, we'll affix some legs. The client is fond of the mid century look, so we've decided on hairpin legs, which will result in a table similar to the following:
via WickedBoxcar on Etsy
We're doing the 3 rod style of leg for stability; these tables will get a lot of use, after all. And we're definitely going to do something fun with the color. (How great is that table at the top of the post?) You can find legs pre powder coated in several colors, but none of the shades seemed like a good match for us. Besides, I'm a fan of a dip dye effect, like so:
via The Brick House
The Brick House, maker of that table above, has a post detailing the painting of those legs, so we'll be following that, too.
When all is said and done, we should end up with two great looking tables, and for pennies on the dollar of what they'd cost to buy pre-made. Here's to DIY!