DIY Entryway Table

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.  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.

This is the wonderful design stage of my 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 to those pieces a cabinet door for a table top!  Voila!  It’s almost done!    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.

 

 

I secured the dresser mirror directly to the door.

I used some clamps 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.

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

I 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.

 

I 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.

 

This 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.  I then 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.

 

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.

I drilled the pocket holes for 3/4” stock, but because I was securing it to the much larger table leg I used 2” screws instead of the standard 1 1/4”.  Notice I also drilled pocket holes for the brace that connects to the back of the door.  I used 2” screws there also.

 

 

Are you still with me?  It’s taking me longer to tell you how I built it than it actually took TO build it.

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

 

It 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!  It’s very heavy and awkward, difficult to move!

 

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.

 

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

 

After the two coats of chalky primer, I noticed that I need to do a little more patching.

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

 

This 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.

 

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

 

One last coat of semi-gloss with the Finish Max.  I wised up, and left it on 2 small dollies so I could easily move it 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 2×2’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!

 

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.

 

The reflection in the mirror is just a stenciled rug being held up to prevent a unwanted reflection.

 

This is the best picture I could get of the entire piece 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.

see more projects made with doors below: