When we moved in, we realized that our square dining table was too large for the kitchen. After swapping tables with our daughter and removing the center leaf, we had a smaller round table. That worked until we had the kitchen remodeled. With the addition of a pantry and a bench, we now had less room for a table. We did a lot of online searches for another, even smaller table. We were looking for one about 36 inches diameter.
Last December we found a small table with a metal pedestal base at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. It was 30 inches in diameter and had a blue top. It was also only $10 dollars, so we bought it. We donated the other table and chairs, bought a tablecloth to cover the blue top on the bargain table and two new chairs to match the kitchen. We were set, at least for a while.
We knew we wanted to do something to the blue top, but we weren’t quite sure what that would look like. After using the table for several months, we decided it needed to be a little bigger. One time we sat 3 adults and 2 grandkids around it and there was barely room for the plates. It was also crowded for just the two of us.
Since the table was functional and we could use the table purchased for the sun porch when we had guests, the table project was extremely low on our list. Here it is without the tablecloth. Tiny, right?
On one of our many trips to the new Menard’s store for patio blocks, we found a top for our table when we weren’t even looking. It is edge glued pine, B grade, sanded smooth and the Perfect Size – 1” by 36”. It was $37.83. We were excited.
We picked through their stock and bought the best one. Unfortunately, we couldn’t work on it until recently due to the rush to complete the patio before fall.
A week after completing the patio, we were ready to get this project going. We gave it a once over with an extra fine sandpaper then went to work staining it. We had the grey stain left over from the barn door project that worked perfectly.
After allowing the stain to dry overnight, we lightly sanded it and applied a couple of coats of a wipe on polyurethane.
We also wanted to darken the pedestal. We spray painted it with Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic in Flat Soft Iron.
When both the new top and the pedestal were completed, the top was secured to the original top with 8 screws.
The whole project only took a couple of days.
We now have enough room to be comfortable at the table, and still, have space to walk around in the kitchen.