Furniture

Before we could bring our new table in, we had to remove the old set. Then, I added a few more Flor tiles to the existing rug. Because our old table was round, the four square by four square rug was the perfect size. The rectangular table needed a rectangular rug. When I order Flor rugs, I always order a few extra squares of each design. This came in handy. I cut the dark brown squares to fit with the existing design. Then I taped them together because I didn’t have extra Flor dots. After about ten minutes, our ‘new’ rug was ready for the table.

Ben and I carried in the new table base, but the top was far too heavy for me to move. With a little help from a friend, we had a new table. Enough talk, here’s the completed table:

The overall size is 4 1/2 feet long by 3 feet wide, which fits perfectly in our dining room. The chairs tuck under neatly, fitting close the edge of the table, leaving two feet of walking space on all sides.

The apron is set in 1/2 inch from the legs, giving the base a polished look.

I love the clean, modern Parsons style legs paired with the more traditional marble top.

It’s a perfect balance of modern and traditional. The dark wooden chairs are comfortable and stylish, but still add warmth.

I wanted to show the marble off, so here’s an artsy shot:

I am 150% in love with our new table. What do you think? What is your proudest DIY project?

Some of our recent posts show changes we have made to our dining room. I have hated our dining table for the past year or so, but Ben loves our table. It’s solid oak and the price was great. The problem? The table measures in at a whopping 4 foot diameter. The pedestal base makes it impossible to push the large chairs within 6 inches of the table. Our small (9 foot wide by 10.5 foot long) dining room is even smaller.

After discussing a new table with Ben and looking around town, the search died; we couldn’t agree on a table. We discussed building a wooden table and painting it white. But how to make it sturdy enough? Back to the drawing board. Then, Ben had a great idea. Why not build the table out of steel? It’s cheap, durable and rigid.

Ben went to the local steel supply warehouse to see what he could find. He found three-inch square steel tubing for the legs and three-inch ‘L’ pieces for the rails. Score! The supply yard cut the pieces to length, too. Ben left $58.00 poorer and 100 pounds heavier, ready to start welding.

We decided on four outer legs connected by a 1/2 inch inset apron with a cross support. Pass about 4 hours and we had this:

Here’s Ben touching up some areas:

Ben is so amazing, he even added feet!

Add some spray primer and three coats of gloss white Rustoleum spray paint and we had this:

And this:

Because we plan to sell our entire dining set, we began searching for new dining chairs. The plan is to have 4 matching chairs at the table at all times, with these stacking chairs available for larger groups-we already have two.

I loved World Market’s Loft Chairs (see below), but at $100.00 each, they are a little out of our current price range.

After some online searching, Ben found these:

They aren’t quite as good-looking as the Loft chairs, but the price was definitely right and they are nice, solid chairs. The chairs are discounted because they are discontinued. We were sold-we bought four. World Market offers 10% off your entire purchase if you open a World Market credit card, so we got an additional $14.00 off! Here’s our receipt. I love when stores show the amount you’ve saved. I really love when the amount saved is more than the amount spent. Check it out:

Yep, we spent $125.96 and saved $154.00!! Amazing!

We went to our local granite and marble yard. We found a dark greenish-black marble with white swirls. It’s b.e.a.utiful and it’s a remnant! Ben helped cut the slab at the granite supply- it was too heavy and large to cut at home.

Then he hauled the 4 1/2 foot by 3 foot cut piece home and polished the edges using granite specific polishing pads on a right angle grinder. Here he is, hard at work: