Pedestal Style Kitchen Table, Cut Up And Turned Into A Coffee Table.

Pedestal Style Kitchen Table, Cut Up And Turned Into A Coffee Table.

contributed by 2 Parents, 5 Kids, 365 Days

I was too excited to wait until next week to share this little project I have been working on all weekend.

For a few years, I have been searching for a pedestal style kitchen table to cut up and turn into a round coffee table for my family room.

I have a lot of little kids, the idea of a coffee table with no sharp corners makes me happy.

It was going to be a tricky redo, because, as it turns out, people don't want to sell their nice wood tables for cheap. Even thrift stores would mark them much more than I ever wanted to spend on an item that I was ultimately going to cut up and paint. I just happened to be driving past a local thrift shop that sets of its goods out to suck you in, and there it was.

A pedestal table. I stopped on a whim, and checked the price. $75. I was hoping they would come down on the price, when the guy running it said that everything was 50% off that day. Sweet! With tax, it ended up being just under $40, which I was more than willing to pay.

Now, this puppy isn't solid wood. The pedestal is, as are the feet, but the tabletop is just veneer. Which, for me, is fine. This isn't an heirloom piece. The great thing about it being MDF on the inside is that it is a great deal thicker and sturdier than an all wood table, which means my kids can lean on it without fear of tipping.

I didn't get a good "before" pic, because my hubby decided to just take the top right off of it almost as soon as I got it out of the car. So here is a before of the pedestal at least:

with some of the pedestal cut off. He got it all cut, the screws replaced, and then when we got it inside, we decided to cut it down a little bit more, so it isn't as tall as it is here:

Then came the sanding. Oh my word, it was raining the two days I did the bulk of the work on this, which means that it all got done in my living room. Now I am actually going to have to dust this week...

Next was the primer/white coat. Two thin coats worked really well for me:

(at this point, my kids thought the tabletop was a fabulous stage and Beyblade arena. Also, some Ninja Zhu Zhu Pets might have had a battle here)

I now interrupt this show-n-tell for a commercial announcement. (Ok, not really, the people who came up with this nail polish system have no clue who I am. I am just some nail biting cuticle abuser who got a manicure) This is theShellac manicure that I got last Friday--not this past Friday, but the one before--and through all of the sanding and painting, it stayed perfect. Once I washed my hands, it even went back to being shiny. Clearly I am no hand model, so I am not showing it to you in the best circumstances on the prettiest hands, but it was seriously worth the money! 

Ok, now back to our program...

 I decided to do the table this seaglass green/blue color instead of just plain white. It is a nice color without being overwhelmingly bright for what is going to end up being right smack dab in the middle of the family room.

I was so excited that I got it done today that I haven't rubbed it with wax yet, so the top looks like it is unevenly painted. But I promise it isn't. It was all sanded and painted and smooth, but of course where I distressed it a little on the top, it looks extra sanded. So a little bit of wax paste should help even that out and make the finish nice and soft looking. 

(this is actually my living room, and I have big plans for that couch! I am going to keep the table upstairs until after a dinner I am hosting at my house this coming Saturday, then it will be moved downstairs. Or maybe not...)

I am SO happy with the finished product, it is exactly what I envisioned I wanted when I started looking for a victim...uh, I mean, table all that long while ago. 

Final Project Cost: $40 for the table, $3 for sandpaper. I already had the paint, sander, and other various painting supplies on hand. So it was a frugal project as well!

I worked so hard on this, I am linking up with Craft-O-Maniac Monday

Can't wait to see all the other goodies everyone is showing off!