This could easily be coined one of the world's easiest DIYs. With minimal materials and a super cheap budget you can get a high end look for much less. This is a great one-day project with a huge reward!
The best part about this project is that it sounds incredibly easy. Stylizimo takes us through the step-by-step process and, boy oh boy, is it simple. All it takes are some wooden planks, driftwood stain, your choice of legs, and voila— a gorgeous table!
Stylizimo recommends the Ikea Vika Lerberg legs, but I personally like these 3rod Hairpin Legs. Either way you'll get a gorgeous table.
Make sure to check out Stylizimo's New Trendy Dining Table in 1-2-3 for the full tutorial.
Image: Nina Holst
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I love this DIY table, it has a lot of character and charm, and the size is perfect...
decogirlmontreal
Beautiful! The clean lines of this table would be perfect for a small space because it doesn't have too much visual weight.
-Forever Lovely
foreverlovelydesign.blogspot.com
love this. it's beautiful, but for a total construction novice, how does one "screw the boards together using a plank" and "place the table on legs"? do i need a drill?
The construction seems pretty simple, but they were too vague on some of the materials details. Can anyone tell what kind of wood they used? And where do you get driftwood stain?
I would love to know the source for the driftwood stain.
I've seen these tables both beautifully and badly executed. When they're done well it's a statement piece, but when done badly, they're a shaky hot mess.
I love it! There definitely are some things I'd need advice on but seems that if you are careful, choose the right wood, it'd come out great.. :)
Great looking table. I'm also looking for the type of wood they used. Any help would be appreciated.
This is a great looking table, fantastic idea.
"...for a total construction novice, how does one "screw the boards together using a plank" and "place the table on legs"? do i need a drill?"
Yes, preferably. If you use pine boards they may split if you haven't pre-drilled holes (slightly smaller than the screws) for the screws. And you should drill holes (same size as the screws) through the planks; the screws only need to fasten in the boards.
Everything Nina posts is magnificent ! Clean, simple style. Love her blog.
hrumpf....just bought one of these "trendy" tables. I say "harumpf" because I did not see this diy first, and because I did not know my table was trendy...I just thought it was beautiful.
Will the planks begin to warp if they are not mounted on something besides those little strips on wood? Also, will the cracks in between the boards get gross if food spills on them? The pictures do look nice though.
Yes, the gaps between boards will trap food & stuff.
The optimum is to use a jointer (a machine that makes straight edges on boards) and biscuit joiners (which keep the boards from bowing in the middle) and then glue & hold together overnight with pipe clamps.
Since that gets quite a bit more complex, though, you could choose the VERY straightest boards possible, lay them on a very flat surface where they can be pushed hard together (like against a wall), then put glue in each seam as you screw on the cross pieces. You'd need to carefully raise the whole thing once to wipe off excess glue; then let the rest set overnight. I believe this would produce a decent result.
I used those Ikea Lerberg trellises ($10 each) for two temporary tables, with used slab doors ($2 each) as the tops. They're sturdy and useful! They might even serve as a dining table if I'd glued molding around the edges, and come up with some clever way to disguise the knob hole. OR, you could buy a new cheap one that has no hole yet?
I too wanted to find out about the driftwood stain. On her blog, you see a picture and it's a brand called "Lady." I couldn't find that brand using google.
But I've heard of easy ways to instantly "weatherize" new wood, so I searched on "graying wood recipe." Here's a clever and easy one, where you just soak a piece of steel wool in vinegar (!) at http://miniatures.about.com/od/miniaturebasics/f/vinegarwood.htm.
Since you then dilute the vinegar, I think it wouldn't smell for days, as stain would.
BTW, this "temporary" table (until their stuff ships from LA to their new home) will cost around $80, and require, I believe, minimum five hours of work and travel time - IF you're near an Ikea. More if you need to buy a drill though you can get cheap ones for around $20. Some things aren't as easy as they sound.
the stin comes from : http://lady.jotun.com/
the stain... that is...
I actually made this table! Looks pretty good. The only issue was that the Ikea trestle legs recommended aren't made to attach to table tops (which I thought was weird, you're just supposed to rest the table on top of the legs?), so I glued the legs to the table using epoxy. So far so good.
Does anyone know where to get "driftwood" stain? I cannot find that color anywhere! And I looked up the website that sells the "Lady" brand stain you see in the picture and it doesn't seem like it's in the US... If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!
The link for the stain above (http://lady.jotun.com/) is in the middle east. I imagine shipping would be a nightmare to the US.
Minwax makes a classic gray stain (minwax.com) or Cabot makes a driftwood colored stain (cabotstain.com)