Have you ever had your heart set on a table you saw online or maybe at a designer shop, but you just couldn’t stomach the price tag? When looking for the perfect dining table to fill my mid-century modern open concept living space, I kept running into this problem.

When taking on a renovation project, budgets can be tight, a lot of your funds often get soaked up by construction costs. This leaves less money for decorating but the pieces you bring in to furnish and style make such an impact on the way you feel and function in a room. It’s key to look for areas you can save. When it came to the dining table, I knew I needed to save some pennies, but I didn’t want to sacrifice design. I had envisioned the table as a statement piece, so I decided to get crafty and create my own. With a bit of elbow grease, a solid vision, and some tools, I was able to achieve the look I wanted at a fraction of the cost. Now I have a beautiful place for our friends and family to gather around for a meal, conversation, or games.

Old doesn’t mean useless, and this is often the case for me. I love searching secondhand places for great finds that I can transform into unique, custom pieces for my home. I started looking for a second-hand wood table to kick off the project. Fortunately, I found just what I needed on Facebook Marketplace. After negotiating a bit and solidifying a pickup time, I was able to secure the base of this project for $90.

TIP: If you see something you like on Facebook Marketplace, act quickly, be direct with pricing, and know that time is of the essence. Pieces go very quickly; I don’t want you to lose out on what you are looking for.

Next, was the elbow grease step. With a few cuts, some sanding and varnish, the top came out exactly how I had envisioned. I couldn’t be happier about how the legs turned out - the dowels make the perfect statement. They hide the outdated look of the previous legs, making it match the rest of my open living space. To see the full tutorial so you can create this look in your home, watch the complete transformation here.

To create this table on your own, you will need the following tools and supplies:

• Belt sander

• Palm sander

• Skill saw

• Chop saw

• Router

• Nail gun

• Sandpaper (do you want to suggest grits?)

• Wood glue (do you want to say the type?)

• Screws

• Varnish

• Pre-used wood table (we found ours for $90!)

• Wood dowels (we chose oak) 

Then you can begin construction…

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For the top

1.    Remove the braces and legs

2.    Sand down old varnish using the belt sander and palm sander

3.    Cut the edge with a skill saw

4.    Glue the leaf inserts into the table

5.    Use a router to create the new desired angle

6.    Sand with finishing sand paper

7.    Apply the desired varnish

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For the base

1.    Create race track structure with leftover wood as cross braces

2.    Cut half-round oak dowels to the correct height with a chop saw

3.    Secure dowels with a nail gun

4.    Toenail top to base with screws

5.    Finish with more sanding and varnish

This piece finally got the facelift it needed and is now the center of a beautiful space we use to gather for food, conversation, and games. To complete the look, I paired the table with some cute IKEA chairs. Lennon and I have already created many memories around this table and we can’t wait to create more.  

xox DIY MOM xox

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