Monday, March 25, 2013

Re-Purposing A Table...
...Right-Sizing A Room

Lately I have been hearing a term on home improvement shows: 'right-sizing". The concept is simple, you use the space you have to its fullest potential for YOUR lifestyle. If space is at a premium, you need to think beyond the architect's designation for the room. My current place is a two bedroom apartment. It is a classic Chicago, brick 2-Flat, with a bay window front. The living room and dining room are basically open to each other with a large, framed opening delineating the two rooms. The living room is actually the smaller of the two spaces. When I first moved in, I used each room as a living room. I have always thought dining rooms were a waste of space. I prefer to eat in the living room in a comfortable chair or on the couch. Having just moved out of a studio apartment, I liked the idea of having two living rooms!

Then Thanksgiving came. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I wanted to host a Thanksgiving dinner. My landlord's unit has the same floorplan, and he had the front room (meant to be a living room) as a dining room and the dining room was the living room. This made perfect sense for the way we live today. When the building was built, 'parlor suites' were smallish pieces of furniture, a chair or two and a loveseat or divan, whereas a dining room from that period might have a table and chairs, a buffet, and a china cabinet. The modern living room generally has much larger furniture, plus a coffee table and a TV. I decided for the holiday, I would turn the front living room into a dining room. I ended up borrowing the landlord's table (thankfully it was from Ikea and very easy to take apart and carry upstairs). To my surprise, I liked having just one living room (much cozier), and really liked the look of a dining room. After returning the dining table to its rightful owner, I decided it might be time to look for one of my own.

I was fortunate to find the smaller version of my landlord's table at a Goodwill for only $10. At that price I figured it would work for now, and perhaps someday I would salvage the legs and put on a larger table top.

Fortune smiled upon me a few weeks later and I found an oak coffee table that was a little worse for wear, but the wood was absolutely beautiful, and it was only $6.99! As you can see, it had some water rings, scratches, and a honey oak finish that didn't quite go with my decor.

Detail of a black water ring
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
Detail of scratches and stains
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
The table taken apart
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved

I disassembled the table, figuring I would refinish the apron and top, and use the legs from my other table. I didn't want to use a chemical stripper, so since I was dealing with flat surfaces, I decided to sand off the old finish with my random orbit sander. I started with an 80 grit and finished up with 120. Rather than buy wood bleach, I used Barkeeper's Friend scouring powder to remove the black water ring and a few other dark spots. Wood bleach is oxalic acid, and oxalic acid also happens to be the active ingredient in Barkeeper's friend. (Oxalic acid is toxic, so if you try this trick or use wood bleach, be sure to use caution and read and follow label precautions).

The old finish has been sanded off
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved

I decided to us a polyureathane/stain combo in satin finish. I found a color that would coordinate with some other furniture I had in the room. It is important to follow the instructions on the poly/stain, letting it dry thoroughly between coats. It is also important to sand between coats. I used 220 grit sanding sponges. They are reusable and much less hassle than sandpaper. As you can see, there is some beautiful grain patterns and tigering in the wood.

(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved

Removing the legs from the other table was going to be a little more difficult than I thought, and so I decided to just set the 'new' top on the old table, and look for other options. I also decided, that while it was nice to have a dining room, I still only had dinner guests a few times a year, so I set up the table and the rest of the furniture so I could use the room as an office, but quickly put everything away if I was having a dinner party. At the time I had a small netbook which I connected to a flat screen monitor I bought at Goodwill for $15.00. I can tuck the monitor behind a console table and store the printer on the bottom shelf of a side table when not in use.

Dressed for Dinner
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
The Refinished Top
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
Dressed for Success
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved

As turned out, fortune smiled upon me again! While poking around a local used furniture and salvage store, I found a set of four table legs. I asked the owner how much they were. At first he was a bit reluctant, as he was going to use them for a similar project, but he finally decided I could have them for $20, along with the apron (which I hadn't noticed before--bonus!). I walked my new purchase home (which was about a mile); I had the legs tucked under one arm and the apron slung over one shoulder. It was Good Friday, so I felt extra conspicuous walking down the street with a large wooden object on my shoulder! The legs and apron were in good shape, so no refinishing was required. I just screwed the top to the base (there were pre-drilled holes on the base).

Apron and legs from a local thrift store
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
Base and Top Assembled
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved
(c) 2012 Eric E. Paige, All Rights Reserved

Now I have a room that is right-sized to serve double duty and a beautiful table for a little over $30 in thrift store finds and finishing supplies. So take a look around your home. Are you using each room to its fullest, best potential? While your out and about be sure to check out those thrift stores, yard sales, and clearance deals. With a little effort, you can breathe new life into an item and have a unique piece for your home (and yes, those are different chairs in the second set of photos, but that's for another post....)

1 comment:

  1. I L O V E Goodwill! Especially the ones out of the city. I furnished half a house on what it cost me to buy 1 antique table through an antique dealer. For those in doubt, no it didnt look like a college dorm...
    I love the idea of using a dining room as a sitting area/ library. It's kinda crazy to have a room "set up" for use only a couple of times a year.
    I've even went so far as to put my master bedroom in the smallest of rooms since I'm only there usually 8 hours a day and usually unconscious anyway.

    ReplyDelete