We made a table:

[photo]

One of the projects on our list for the nursery was to DIY a side table. I really liked the look of this one but didn't love the neon color and really didn't want to pay $180 for something that we could easily make.

So, we brainstormed and came up with a plan to make our own. I liked the idea of customizing it for our needs and taste. We ordered three 24" unfinished hairpin legs from here and a 22" round wood table top.

We treated the table top with a pre-stain conditioner that came pretty highly recommended. We debated skipping this step but I'm glad we didn't because after conditioning, we only ended up having to use one coat of stain. We went with a dark walnut stain and were really pleased with the results -- rich and even. When the stain was dry, we applied Safecoat Acrylacq to seal everything. It's an amazing eco-friendly, non-toxic, water-based sealer that protects the table and stops any off-gassing from the stain. We had to order it online since they don't sell it locally here, but it was well worth it. We highly recommend it and will be using it for all our future projects since it's dog and baby friendly.

Next we sanded down the legs, primed them, and spray painted them a fun yellow (I didn't do the spray painting, so you can relax). After about two coats, we let everything air out and dry for a few days before assembly. 

After sitting for a few days, it was time to put the thing together! Andrew did some quick math to make sure the legs were spaced evenly and we got to work. Since we went with pine for the top, the wood was soft enough that we didn't have to drill any holes -- a screwdriver, screws, and some washers got the job done.

And in just a few short minutes, we were done. Once all the painting was done, it came together really quickly. We are pretty pleased with the results. It's exactly what we wanted and coming in at $140.40 for the entire thing (stain and sealer, and hardware included), it's more cost effective than the one we drew our inspiration from. We had hoped to save a few more bucks when it was all said and done but we did have to shell out a few extra dollars for the Acrylacq (something we plan to get a lot of use from) so, we look at it as an investment. Plus, we made a taller, larger table than the one from Land of Nod. So, saving $40 is actually pretty impressive. More table for less money. And check out how it looks in Baby M's room: