Vintage Drafting Table Turned Dining Table

While I was pregnant with Colten I knew the day would come when we would have family here after his birth and we would all need a place to sit and eat. Our little kitchen table would not cut it anymore. Plus we would now have 3 kids and again the kitchen table that seats 4 would not work. So I started looking on craigslist for dining room tables and I didn't ever find anything that I liked.

I wanted a table that was unique but beautiful and was my style. No luck after weeks of looking on craigslist. Then I came across a listing for a drafting table. I loved the base of the drafting table. The seller was only asking $50, I think, so we bought it. How easy would it be to take the existing table top off and put new boards on?!? Totally easy!!

I didn't take pictures of the whole process because it was pretty simple to do and anyone that is handy with a sander and saw could do this.

First, a look at the table before. This is the picture from the craigslist ad.



Matt bought six 2 x 6 pieces of wood from Lowes. It took forever to find pieces that were straight and not warped. I went out to the garage and picked out the sides of the pieces I wanted to go on top and bottom. This would be easier to do if you had a jig to screw all the boards together. We didn't want to pay the crazy amount that a jig costs so Matt rigged up his own way of screwing the boards together. Don't ask me how though!!



Once the boards were screwed together Matt sanded down all the edges and corners and on top of the boards. I didn't want the pointy edges because that is just a bunch of stitches waiting to happen! Plus, I wanted a softer look.

Matt reused the original support board on the bottom of the table. It was not long enough to go all the way across the table so he also added another support piece. By reusing the original support piece Matt did not have to cut a new piece and then chisel out a space for the semi-circle metal pieces to go.



Most tables sit around 30 inches high and this table was around 32 inches high. Matt trimmed off 2 inches from the verticle piece so that it would be sitting at 30 inches.



After the new top was back on the base I then stained everything Dark Walnut. I put 2 coats of stain on the table. I then put 2 coats of Polycrylic on to protect the table.







And the final product...



Linking up to:
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Cheap Crafty Mama
Someday Crafts
Savvy Southern Style
The Taylor House
The DIY Showoff
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating