DIY coffee table [take 2]

Remember this industrial coffee table I made last year? I used an aluminum base from Ikea, removed the frosted glass top, and replaced it with a stained piece of plywood. Here, I'll jog your memory:

The project worked great, was fun and inexpensive (only cost us $10 for the board, since we found the coffee table and already owned stain and spray paint), and left us with a piece that we used for over a year. When we moved to DC, we sold the table for $150 (!!); it was just too big for our narrow space, and we wanted something long and skinny to go with our couch.

Well, we found something long and skinny and PERFECT that I will share next week, but first, let me show you the runner-up.

I'm frustrated that I don't have a before photo, since it was a craigslist find. Originally listed for $250 in Boston, it sat unclaimed for months before the seller agreed to part with it for $100. My wonderful sister M picked it up for me, and my wonderful father drove it down when he passed through DC to take things out of my tiny apartment and store at home for work. It had a nice metal base with gold caps on tapered legs, and a gorgeous piece of vintage marble on top. Once we decided it was too small for our couch (as you can see in the pictures below), I took the marble out for another use and replaced it with a stained piece of plywood, like we did last time. Again, Home Depot was willing to cut the table top to the correct size, and after a good sanding it was ready for stain. I did it all in the bathtub over the course of two days. No excuses for small homes!

  
The lovely Home Depot folks were willing to work with me to cut the exact piece of wood I wanted, so as to highlight the most interesting grain. It helps if you go at off times- say, 2p on a Wednesday, but I'm sure you could find someone patient on a weekend as well.

 

Aren't his tapered little legs the cutest? We sold it for $100 to a very sweet couple living in tight quarters, so it's off to its new home. I'll show you what we did with the original marble top later this week- it became one of the most functional units in our home, and I can't wait to share.