Do you love DIY's?

Oh, I love me a project! Too bad my bank account doesn't love a project as much as I do. But this one... this one was completely affordable and a big hit!

I set out to make this outdoor, shabby-chic table the Monday before Thanksgiving so that the 40-some-odd guests could have a surface to place their beverages on as all the thankfulness was happening. It took me two afternoons to complete it (the first afternoon sanding and assembling, and the second afternoon staining). Hindsight is always 20/20, so if you get the urge to do this simple table, I advise staining your wood before assembly. In my defense, I wasn't planning on staining my table at all until I realized that without some color, it looked like a redneck coffee table. But once finished, I fell in love with it, it was exactly was I was hoping for, only better with the 1930's kerosene heater set on it for night time.

Materials needed:

  - 2 pallets (in the best condition you can find)

  - 4x4 piece of lumber for the legs (I cut mine 8.5" long in order to achieve a table height of 21")

  - 4 caster wheels with screws

  - 16 L-brackets with screws (I used only 8 and wished I used 16, 4 on each leg (2 on top, 2 on bottom)

  - Stain of choice (I used "black walnut")

  - Drill

  - Sanding materials

 

Process:

1. I started by choosing the best side of a pallet to be the top surface and sanded it like crazy since that would be the surface people would be touching (I wouldn't want people getting splintered or stabbed by a split board). If you want to sand more than just the one surface, you're more than welcome to.

 

2. Stain all your lumber. This is quite a process and requires patience. Use a paint brush, and don't be too precise.

 

3. Set your top of pallet face down and screw in the L-brackets, with the legs attached, in place at each of the 4 corners, using 2 brackets for each leg.

 

4. Set your bottom pallet on the legs, lined up, and in place.

 

5. Screw in the last of the L-brackets, 2 on each leg again.

 

6. Screw in the caster wheels to the bottom 4 corners of your table. You are finished!

 

 

My family loved it I was overly proud as usual. Even though I paid for my pallets (I'm sure you can hunt some down that would be free), I still kept the cost to under $90. Not to mention, it was complete fun to build something we'd be using immediately!