Almost a year ago Terrie and I each wrote about 5 things we love about our home (click here to read the post).  One of the things I loved was our newly setup outdoor living room and in the post photos you can see we were using a rectangular wicker table – one we had given our son but were storing for him.  That wicker table now resides in his home and so this summer I wanted to create a “bigger and better shaped” table for our outdoor patio.

Some left over tile from our casita flooring (also seen in the previous post) provided the inspiration for a DIY coffee table project (the acronym means “Do It Yourself” – but in this case it was my husband doing and me supervising!).  We put the completed table to good use this summer and I expect to continue using it at least into October if we have our usual Indian summer!

The Process

I had the metal bottom of a coffee table, it previously supported a large, round piece of glass.  I played around with the leftover tiles in order to select the ones I wanted to use and determined a pattern I liked that would proportionally suit the metal bottom when the top was fully layed out.  After the layout design was finalized, my husband cut a scrap piece of board to the desired size.

Since our scrap base was particle board we painted it with leftover primer to seal it, then stapled felted black paper onto the board (left over from roofing our house) to help keep potential moisture at bay.  My husband then attached painted wooden side rails around the board to provide a finished look and an edge for placing the tiles.

“Thin Set Mortar” was an easy way to adhere the tiles to the board.  After applying all the tile to the board the project was left to dry for a day.

Finally, the tile was grouted, cleaned and left to dry.

The Finished Project

The finished top for the coffee table measures 37″ square.  The size and the combined weight of the particle board, tile, motar and grout make the top heavy enough that it does not need to be attached to the metal base.  The top simply sits in place on the base and when pushed or bumped it does not move at all due to its weight.  If your piece is smaller and not as heavy you may need to adhere it to your base/legs for safety.

Repurpose, Reuse

If you need a coffee table, determine the size/shape needed to fill your space and then keep your eyes open.  There are plenty of scrap materials that can be reused or items that can be repurposed as a coffee table.  For instance, you might consider…

An old door:

Photo robojunker.com

Photo thenateshow.com

The top coffee table was created from an old door that was cut to the desired size and then legs attached.   In the bottom photo, a table top was cut from a door to the desired size and then two other sections of the door were attached at 9o degree angles to create legs.

An old chalkboard or chalkboard paint:

Photo shelterness.com

Attach legs to a chalkboard (make sure it is very firm or back it with some plywood) or paint an old coffee table with chalkboard paint.

An old window:

Photo instructables.com

Frame a window and add legs to create a coffee table.  If it’s a very old window and the antique glass is fragile, place a piece of furniture glass on top of the window to fit the overall size of the coffee table.

Share your coffee table ideas and adventures by leaving a comment (use the link below) or email photos to solutions@yourdecoratinghotline.com.  We’d love to hear from you.

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