Made Without My Hubby- Coffee Table

Here is my new coffee table!



And here is the story of how it came to be:
The Shanty Sisters are hosting another party! When they first advertised, I thought, "Oh well, I have nothing planned."  Famous last words!

My husband had set an a END OF CRAFTING DEADLINE!


He was so over the "Santa's Workshop" look the apartment had been sporting for nearly a month.

Meanwhile, about two weeks before Christmas I started wanting a coffee table. We were having my parents and my brother and his wife in for the holidays. With six people in the apartment for days on end, I decided it would be helpful to have another surface for snacking. Snacking is pretty important in my family. We take it seriously and I wanted to be prepared. I responded to a few ads on craigslist and then waited. This was the table I was really hoping to get and with two for sale in my area, I was pretty hopeful. Alas, I didn't get either one. 



First thing the Friday morning before Christmas I heard from a college student giving away this table for free! Not exactly the IKEA table, but it was free!


I brought it home just before dinner. It was big, nearly as long as my couch and filled the entire floor space. Fitting into my little car like it did played tricks on my sense of size and proportion.  Everyone's knees would touch the table. Oh, and it was bright blue with a white faux boise pattern on it.



Due to the unexpected timing of it all, I hadn't mentioned getting the table to Cliff and in retrospect that was a little too "made it without my hubby." 

Needless to say, days before my family was to show up, (on his END OF CRAFTING deadline day) plunking this in the middle of the living room was not one of my finer wifely moments.


Also not helpful-quoting Christopher Lowell on furniture spacing.


Cliff wanted it gone. And, by "gone" I mean "GONE!"


So, I took it apart and prepared to leave it out on the balcony.  Since it came apart so nicely I was sure I could cut it down and make it work.  I knew my vision and what I could accomplish, but I promised not to work on it at all until the whole apartment was company ready.


The next day Cliff went to see Avetar in 3D so that I could have the day alone to clean. I worked like a mad woman and everything was good to go by 3:00. Then in less than an hour, I used my jigsaw to cut down the top  and the long support pieces and reassembled the table.


When Cliff came home at 5PM the table was the right proportions.



More importantly, the apartment was spotless. Spotless! Cliff came around.


A few coats of spray primer and Heirloom White and it was just right. I didn't take the time to sand much and the faux boise pattern shows. It's sort of like a slightly raised white on white pattern. It works nicely. The cut isn't perfectly straight.  My father saw it over Christmas and taught me a trick for cutting straight lines with a jigsaw. I may just do it over and trim off the bumpy edge. Or I may not.


For now I am having fun decorating a new surface!

Here was my Christmas coffee table.

Check it out! We may actually read some of these coffee table books now!

The coffee table even made it into the family Christmas photo. Notice all the legroom?
For more independent women making stuff check out Shanty 2 Chic!


Updated: I am going to try the straight cutting trick and take pictures. Tutorial to come!