Thursday, March 21, 2013

DIY Skirted Console Table: Putting Square Pegs into Round Holes

I needed a really odd sized table.  Something really narrow, but kind of long.  Like a console table, but smaller.  I'd pinned a few skirted console tables on Pinterest like this one:

Design by Jan Showers
 
So it occurred to me that it would be super easy to make a skirted table because no one would know what the actual table looked like! 

So I went to Home Depot and bought 4 deck baulsters (for $.89 each) to use for table legs.  I just planned to screw these into a spare piece of pine board to make the table. 

Deck Baulsters - $.89 Each at Home Depot - Great for making wobbly table legs!


Obivously I am not a master carpenter, but even I knew that this table would probably be super rickety.  So I found these rubber leg tips.
 

 
 
 
Of course the rubber leg tips were meant for round legs, apparently like for crutches or walkers.
 
And my deck baulsters were square. 
 
And you know that old saying about square pegs and round holes. 
 
But whatever, I like to learn my lessons first-hand. 
 
Anyway, so whoever said you can't put a square peg in a round hole obviously wasn't trying hard enough.  Or the peg was too big. 
 
I managed to get the tips on the legs and the legs screwed to the board pretty quickly.  It was still pretty rickety so I ended up adding an apron to further stablize the table. 
 
Then I made a table cloth to cover it. 
 
Viola!  Skirted console table
 
DIY Skirted Console Table
 
I certainly wouldn't dance on this table.
But I never dance on tables anyway. Only bars. Dancing on tables is tacky.
But it is sturdy enough to hold a vase and couple of picture frames.
 
Yes, it is an amazing feat of engineering! 
Capable of supporting the weight of not one, but TWO picture frames, a vase, a book and an empty jar. 
I don't want to push it with the jar.   
 
 
Most importantly, the skirt hides my router, roller skates and a couple of other random objects that I have no place for!