I had a hard time getting good pictures of this project because the lighting in my living room is pretty terrible, (a project for another time), so I hope these pictures give you an idea of the piece.
I wanted to make a side table with a herringbone top for the living room. So just about a year and a half ago (some projects move at a snails pace for me), I started searching kijiji to find a decent base. I knew I wanted it to be made from metal and have drawers. Eventually I found an old metal drawer from someone’s work shop.the top was dented up and it had lost almost all of its paint. Which made it the perfect candidate to receive a herringbone upcycle.
I’m also pretty negligent at taking pictures during the process so Not seen here will be the original photos of the drawer before I cleaned it up and waxed it to seal in the remaining paint and halt the rust. Or the photos of me using the torch to bend round stick to create custom hair pin legs.
Then covid came and I didn’t get to the shop hardly at all to put in time on my table. Fast forward to where my significant other welded up the base frame recently so that it sits perfectly in the little lip area under the drawer. He knew I needed a little push to finish this project.
I finally assembled the top from some supplies gathered at the local Home Depot. Stained the wood and glued the pieces down to a base.
Banded the edges with a tiny bit of over hang to help secure the top squarely to the drawers and sealed up the wood. Then fastened the drawers to the newly painted legs and base and finally my end table is a real usable piece of furniture and no longer just a picture in my mind.
Sometimes I’m hard on myself for letting projects get away from me. Leaving things sitting half finished for prolonged periods of time. The results are generally worth it in the end so I shouldn’t put things off. I guess there will always just be a procrastination factor involved because I have too many things I want to do, and never enough time or energy for the things I really need to do.
Often the projects I finish never get shared here for the simple reason that they get left so long or become points on my to-do list and I somehow forget to take pleasure in the fact that I’ve created something. I really need to do better at slowing down and giving myself credit for things instead of focusing on the work left unfinished. I’m going to try to post more and take note of my accomplishments. It’s not New Years yet but who says I can’t make a resolution now? Nothing has been normal this year anyway! Lol
This piece is utterly fantastic! Congratulations on finishing it! You know what they say about people who have unfinished projects being way ahead of people who never even start them!
Perfect reuse and live the herringbone top. I let projects languish too…but then I’ve completed them in my mind so many times, they often come together easily. And…sometimes not.
This is fabulous! I’m definitely not the type of person to be able to imagine what a piece of furniture COULD look like, so I’m in awe. Everything about this is just amazing, especially the worn grunginess of the metal in juxtaposition to the new legs and top.
It’s always cool to see a confluence of ideas and skill. Most people seem to have either ideas or ability, but you happily have both!
I’m not sure which I love more, the table itself, or the gentle reminder that letting projects sit for a little while (or a long while, ahem!) is not the same as failing. My fabric stash is littered with half-sewn projects where either I realized I needed to practice some more in order to be able to do it justice or I frankly got distracted by something shinier. Previously I felt somewhat guilty every time I looked at them. Now I’m going to try and think of it as goals I haven’t reached yet.
Thank you for both the pretty pictures and the inspiration!
Thanks DreadForest! Your kind words are very appreciated. I think many of us suffer from that little procrastinator inside from time to time. It’s hard to stay motivated, especially when we can rationalize it by saying ‘well, it’s only for me’ or ‘it’s not important, it’s just a project’.
I am glad that I finished it and it turned out much as I had hoped. It’s certainly a reminder to just keep moving forward until I reach my destination.
Not seen here will be the original photos of the drawer before I cleaned it up and waxed it to seal in the remaining paint and halt the rust. Or the photos of me using the torch to bend round stick to create custom hair pin legs.
this place always makes me feel better about things.
I love the herringbone pattern.