Dining Table Projects

It's always easy to go into a store and purchase a dining table, but the design of that table reflects the taste and style preferences of the retail buyer of the table, not you. Instead, take on a dining-table project that makes a statement about your own design style; something that reflects your taste. Using salvaged wood or consignment-store purchases, you can have a dining table that is customized for you and your family. Does this Spark an idea?

Eco-Friendly Table

By using salvaged wood, you can build a custom table that can be any size, from a small breakfast table to a large dining table for dinner parties. Visit a salvage yard that gets its wood from torn-down homes, old chicken coops and wood left over from remodeling projects. Select planks that are about the same size and the same kind of wood; look for pine and redwood, which are soft and easy to work with. For the table top, join the planks by attaching a strip of wood across the planks on the underside of the table. Use wood screws for a strong attachment and repeat two times for a total of three strips that run underneath it; these will hold the planks securely and create a nice top. Sand all the exposed edges and place the table top either over an existing table or purchase legs from a home goods store. This wood can be painted or stained, but sometimes the raw wood itself has so much character that nothing needs to be done to it.

Vintage Window Frame Table

Many salvage yards carry old window frames in a variety of sizes. Purchase one of these in a size that would fit at last four people comfortably around the perimeter. You will want to replace the glass, because more than likely it is not tempered. So visit a custom frame shop and have the glass replaced with either tempered glass or acrylic, which will hold up nicely if you have children. Add legs, which you can purchase from home goods stores or IKEA. This makes an excellent outdoor dining room set or is a perfect addition to a rustic home style.

Second Life Table

Pick up a table at a consignment store or a local charity shop and customize it with color and stain. Begin by stripping the old stain off with either a chemical stripper or with sandpaper, then choose a new stain color or perhaps a paint color that would complement your interior dcor. Low-key shades such as sage green and creamy yellow are excellent choices for kitchen and casual dining areas. Once you have painted the piece, distress it by lightly sanding corners with a high-grit sandpaper. Some designers even use a light hammer to put fine dents into the surface of the table, but go easy on this as it can be easily overdone.