There are folks in the home decor world that are easy to get crazy-mad jealous of, because of their keen design capabilities and their ability to always find the best deals that you are SURE you would never find in your area. Daniel of Manhattan Nest is just that lucky, talented type. His new tabletop switch out is praiseworthy and will have you canvasing the streets for abandoned treasures to drag home!
Even if you don't follow Manhattan Nest, you've seen Daniel's work around these parts in the past. We featured his bedroom makeover, the most amazing felt upholstered bed project, and a dresser to desk transformation that will literally hurt your brain it's so awesome.
This time around he scores a sweet tulip-ish table base for a ridiculous (see: hate worthy) price of $45. The square top wasn't exactly awesomesauce so like any good diy-er he attempted to remedy the situation himself. The cut his square top into a circle and applied banding and the result wasn't quite what he was looking for.
Things were bleak and although he had priced having a top custom made, the bids on such things were ridiculously high. One day while headed to the subway he stumbled upon this top for free. A cab ride later and it was home and he has a perfect little set up for a ridiculously low price. Even if he had to hustle back to catch the next train, it was totally worth the run around!
• Check out the full process of his transformation over at Manhattan Nest
Image: Manhattan Nest
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Marisa and Peter's Playfully Eclectic Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
I love seeing Daniel featured here. And he did such a great job (as always) with that table!
love this redo!
He did a great job. For what its worth, you can also buy round tabletops at places like Home Depot. They're solid pine, 3/4", unfinished, stain quality.
Whoever thought rectangular tops went with tulip bases was off their rocker! Nice to see it round again.
Wow. A tabletop change can also add a chair, replace another, mop the floors, and white-balance your pictures for brighter, crisper photos!!!!
It's better with the round top, but there's a fair amount of photo-trickery to make it looks so dramatically better.
... uh, putting a round top on a pedestal base doesn't seem that revolutionary, or even particularly impressive. o.o It would have been a better story if the DIY had worked out (too bad there was no intermediate photo? Could have been interesting.)
Although, the square tabletop looked pretty nice, assuming it was real wood and such. Now kind of destroyed, I assume. XD
I like the original better....... It has more character, I think...
The problem with "unfinished round table top from lumber/hardware/big box store" is that they usually don't have the same kind of beveled edge that a real Saarinen top would have.
I have run into this when trying to put a different size top on my tulip-esque table base. In order to get a top that's not just "plywood cut in the round", you have to find a real table top to salvage from some other table in the size/material that you would like. (Or have it custom made/edge finished by someone - big bucks there, obviously.)
This was a no-brainer
Cool makeover! Would love to know what area of the bagua that "gun" poster is located in, though. :)
While I agree that the round table looks better with the base, I do not agree that $45 is a steal for just the base... I hope he put the original table top to good use!
At first glance, I thought this before and after was about how he switched the base of one of those chairs...
Kvetch kvetch kvetch. A lot of lack of the spirit of this blog, if you ask me. This guy FOUND and SALVAGED the appropriate table-top for this base -- give the dude some credit! Sheesh!
@Acrimonious Jess
The original table top got cut into a circle and banded—since it apparently wasn't that attractive, I don't have much hope for its fate. XD
45 bucks for an adorable table? nice job!
The original post about this at Manhattan Nest made me laugh so hard. Daniel has impeccable and ingenious style on a budget PLUS he can write like the dickens. Definitely on my short list of dream thrifting buddies.
I agree - $45 is a steal for that table. And I admire the vision... I see discarded table tops and bottoms all over the place and never think to mix and match.
It looks good, but I disagree that the tulip base looked bad with the rectangular top. I actually kind of like it, it was different. Considering how hard it is to find a good pedestal base for a table, $45 probably is a good deal for it.
Look great. I don't like brass but I know Daniel really likes it. Daniel is incredible. You have got to see his blog.
bobthefish, that was my thought too. I know these "before" shots are sometimes taken without the end in mind, but the photography choices here look like they were strategic.
this was a nice, simple change, But it wasn't exactly inspiring. It was pretty hum-drum in fact. sorry.
OK...
This sort of change isn't the coup it is being presented as - you've taken what appears to be a good wood top, and replaced it with a scavenged laminate top. Kind of reminds me of stories in the sixties and seventies, showing how to turn an "ugly" Victorian home into something more contemporary. Change for the sake of change doesn't make much sense to me. If you had changed to a wooden, round table, and shown a good use for the square top, that would be far better.