• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Start Here
  • Shop Favorites
  • About
    • Welcome To My Repurposed Life Home of Repurposed Furniture
    • More About Gail
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Information
  • Gallery
    • Repurposed Furniture
  • Repurposed Items
    • Building Supplies
    • Miscellaneous Household Items
    • Picture Frame/Chalk Board
  • DIY
    • Home Reno
    • outdoor living
    • Painting
    • Shop Talk
    • Tips for Around the House
    • Build It
      • Furniture
      • Home Decor
      • Storage
    • Crafts
      • Dollar Store
      • Easy
      • Holidays Seasonal
  • Furniture
    • Chair
    • Desk
    • Dresser/Chest
    • Headboard | Bed Parts | Cribs
    • Kids Furniture
    • Table
    • Kids Furniture
My Repurposed Life® Rescue Re-imagine Repeat
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Project Index
  • Furniture
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Repurposed Furniture » DIY Entryway Table

    DIY Entryway Table

    Published by Gail | Published June 16, 2015 | Updated February 11, 2021
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet
    How to make a DIY entryway table using an old interior door and a wooden dresser mirror. This small piece would be right at home inside your front door. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #furniture #halltree #entryway via @repurposedlife

    Do you remember the door hall tree I made a few weeks ago? I actually bought two of the cheap $2 interior doors to use as extra workspace in between sawhorses. Oh man! I didn’t intend to use them for projects, or I would have bought more. I found the perfect purpose for the second door, a DIY entryway table.

     

    DIY Entryway Table from a door

    design-stage-easy-diy-entryway-tableThis is the wonderful design stage of my DIY entryway table project. I LOVE it when it all comes together so perfectly. We have a $2 door, a $5 dresser mirror and some random legs.

    Add a mirror and a cabinet door

    cabinet-door-table-topAdd to those pieces a cabinet door for a table top! Voila! It’s almost done! Smile  I was seriously giddy that all the pieces were the perfect size. I suppose that is a benefit of hoarding having a lot of treasures.

     

     

    attach-dresser-mirror-doorThe dresser mirror was secured directly to the door.

    Old table legs

    dry-fit-diy-entry-way-table

    Clamps were used to hold the cabinet door in place. I did have to trim the legs, because they were table legs, they were cut on an angle. I had to give them just a slight trim to get a flat edge in order for the new table top to rest on it. The design stage of the diy entryway table is coming along!!

    note the reflection in the mirror. This is when I noticed the dirty carport.

     

     

    kreg-jig-pocket-holes

    You can see in this photo that I made a little skirt using my Kreg Jig that fit the cabinet door (table top).

     

    cleatI added a cleat under the mirror for the back of the table top to rest on. Of course I used Gorilla Wood Glue and some screws.

     

    Put it all together

    testing-the-fitI was testing the fit, and realized there needed to be something else. That mirror is awfully darn heavy, and the table just wasn’t sturdy enough. The reason being? That cheap hollow core door. It just wasn’t solid enough to get a good secure hold.

     

    added-more-pocket-holesI added some more pocket holes with this Mini Kreg Jig Kit . It’s great to make holes when pieces are already assembled—which makes it handy to repair furniture.

     

    Be patient - add braces

    do-not-do-thisThis was a short work day, and I was in a rush to get it more sturdy. I used pocket holes to add 2 small braces. Then I shoved it into the garage until the next day.

    I hate when I have to put a project away that I’m still working on. But that’s the way it goes around here.

     

    lower-shelf-supportThe diy entryway table will NOT get the best of me. After a decent night’s sleep, I was back at it the next morning. I sanded the roundness off of the leg on the inside and the back.

    I ripped a 1x to match the size of the area and drilled some pocket holes. This lower shelf bracket was going to rest upon the leg much nicer now.

    secure-with-pocket-hole-screwsI drilled the pocket holes for ¾” stock, but because I was securing it to the much larger table leg I used 2” screws instead of the standard 1 ¼”. Did you notice I also drilled pocket holes for the brace that connects to the back of the door? I used 2” screws there also.

     

    Add a bottom shelf to the diy entryway table

    lower-shelf-notchedAre you still with me? It’s taking me longer to tell you how I built the diy entryway table than it actually took TO build it.

    I used some 1x’s for the bottom shelf, notching the front board with my jigsaw.

     

    building-easy-entryway-hall-tableIt is so difficult to photograph a mirrored project. I’m always such a mess, I’d scare you off it you saw my reflection in the mirror.

    Are you loving it? I am! The DIY entryway table is  very heavy and awkward, difficult to move!

    Paint project with a Finish Max Paint Sprayer

    homeright-finish-max

    It gets the standard DIY chalky paint primer with Behr semi-gloss (Beluga), sprayed on with my HomeRight Finish Max.

    This is a good shot of the cleat. After the extra holes, I still wasn’t happy with it, so I added 2 “L” brackets that came off an old crib. You do save all that hardware, right?

    I always start painting my projects on the underneath side.

     

    two-coats-primerI did two coats of the chalky paint primer. This is after the first coat.

     

    extra-patchingAfter the two coats of chalky primer, I noticed that I need to do a little more patching on the entryway table.

    After the spackling set up, I sanded it and did one more quick coat of chalky primer.

     

    after-semi-gloss-paintThis is after the first coat of Behr Semi-Gloss (Beluga). I have been using brown craft paper to sand between coats on the surface that I want to be really, really smooth.

    How to move heavy awkward furniture

    side-viewHere is the side view so you can see how petite she is.

     

    one-last-coat-semi-glossOne last coat of semi-gloss with the Finish Max. I wised up, and left it on 2 small dollies so I could easily move the diy entryway table around. You can see that the paint looks a little weird, but you’ll notice in the “after” shots, it dried wonderfully!

    I never tape off glass or mirrors. I find that the paint easily scrapes off with a razor blade.

    As a side note, I timed myself on this last coat. Well, I didn’t really time myself, but I was cooking some lunch, and I set the timer on my phone for 25 minutes and got to work.

    I got out the tarp, the 2x2’s to hold it down, hauled out the entryway table, got out a new can of paint from my car (I go through it like crazy). Then I set up the Finish Max, loaded the paint, painted a coat over the entire piece (not the very bottom underneath the lower shelf) and cleaned the Finish Max with 9 minutes left on my timer. So, although you may think it’s  quicker to paint by hand rather than get everything out and clean up, I totally disagree! With the 9 minutes left, I carefully pushed the piece into the garage to try to protect it from debris and the birds!

    Black DIY entryway table using a dresser mirror

    entryway-table-mirrored-repurposed-door

    Surprise! I’m leaving this piece black. I would actually keep it if I had a need for it and a place to put it.

    In the picture above (where I was painting) you might notice something funny going on with the paint. You can see here, that it turned out great after it dried. Those of you who have tried to take pictures of mirrors can identify with how difficult it is!

    That line on the left of the mirror is some kind of scratch. I didn’t notice it until after I cleaned the mirror. Sad smile

     

    my-repurposed-life-easy-diy-entryway-tableThe reflection in the mirror is just a stenciled rug being held up to prevent a unwanted reflection.



     

    my-repurposed-life-black-diy-entryway-tableThis is the best picture I could get of the diy entryway table without having an undesirable reflection in the mirror.

     

    I really had to resist putting a topcoat of deep red like this coatrack, or blue like this hall tree on this project.

    This DIY entryway table is narrow and would look great in any foyer for all those last minute things we need to grab before we run out the door.

    Do you have tips for taking pictures of mirrored projects?

    gail

    sharing at Be Inpsired - hop over to see more great ideas.

    Old Door Projects Repurposed Door Ideas for All Skill Levels

    see more projects made with doors here

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet

    Related Content:

    • Old Door : Project Ideas
      Old Door : Project Ideas
    • Hall Tree Bench | DIY
      Hall Tree Bench | DIY
    • Spindle Mirror Makeover Thrift Store Find
      Spindle Mirror Makeover Thrift Store Find
    • Storage Bench Made From A Dresser
      Storage Bench Made From A Dresser
    • Hall Tree Projects Ideas for All Skill Levels
      Hall Tree Projects Ideas for All Skill Levels
    • DIY Hall Tree Table
      DIY Hall Tree Table

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      See comments Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Sheila

      July 05, 2015 at 9:49 pm

      Absolutely beautiful!!! Totally love this! Question... In one your comments you said you use brown craft paper to sand in between coats of paint... can you explain that? I mean brown craft paper to me is something like construction paper, so I don't understand how you sand with it.

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        July 06, 2015 at 7:56 am

        Sheila,

        I use brown paper that I receive through the mail when I order packages. Companies use it in a roll.... so basically any brown paper that comes on a roll. You can get it at $$ Tree for a buck. 🙂

        What I get is generally already wrinkled. I just sort of smooth it out slightly and rub it gently over the paint. If there is any Plaster of Paris or chalk paint raised up, it really knocks it down easily. Cheap and it works like very fine sandpaper.

        I hope that helps.
        gail

      • Sheila

        July 07, 2015 at 7:09 pm

        Now I'm gonna have go get me some brown paper and try it! Thank you!

    2. Terri Hughes

      June 17, 2015 at 3:25 pm

      BEAUTIFUL.......I love that you painted it black!

      Reply
    3. Colleen B

      June 17, 2015 at 12:09 pm

      So loving this and glad you painted it black it looks so elegant that color. Now i want one but don't have the entrance way to use it in, maybe my daughter-in-law will like it and can make one for them. Love you ideas and so glad I was suggested your Facebook page by one of my other Facebook sites.

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 17, 2015 at 12:54 pm

        Thank you Colleen for your sweet comment, and letting me know how your found My Repurposed Life! Welcome. I'm always here if you ever have any questions.

        gail

    4. Mindi

      June 16, 2015 at 10:37 pm

      It turned out beautiful! You never cease to inspire me Gail! I love that it came together so nicely for you, makes for a fun project! Of course I pinned it, I love it!

      Reply
    5. Selina

      June 16, 2015 at 11:31 am

      Love it, and I totally agree, taking a picture of a mirror is so hard! I have also completed a project and then noticed a scratch, a few times! You inspire me, I wish I had all your skills!

      Reply
    6. girlfromwva

      June 16, 2015 at 11:04 am

      this looks great! i love how you did it, and the paint job, too.

      Reply
    7. Cher @ Designs by Studio C

      June 16, 2015 at 9:32 am

      Really, really beautiful, Gail! I love the black - it looks so elegant!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

    More about me →

    Join Our Mailing List

    ​

      Click the topics you're interested in below:

      Subscribing above means you agree to our Privacy Policy​

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      SEEN ON

      Might I Suggest

      • Start Here
      • Furniture Makeovers

      Newsletter

      • Sign Up! for emails and updates

      About

      • Gail's Favorites on Amazon
      • About

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Copyright © 2023 My Repurposed Life · Privacy Policy · Disclosure