DIY: Trash to Treasure

From the Magazine: Issue 21

Artful Nesting Tables

By Ki Nassauer & Sue Whitney

Photo by Douglass E. Smith

It’s surprisingly easy—and so eco—to breathe new life into discarded, broken, or just plain tired objects.
For our new DIY column, we asked the authors of Junk Beautiful to show us how. Here’s your first project.

materials
8 old table legs
2 worn art frames (same shape; different sizes)
Artwork (we used botanical prints)
Wooden dowel rods
Stain
Tite Chairs liquid wood expander

tools
Tape measure
Wood handsaw
Drill

Directions

Saw 4 of the table legs to your desired height, then cut the remaining 4 approximately 3 inches shorter.

Measure frames to determine the dowel dimensions, leaving 1 inch on both ends of the shortest sides to allow for overhang.

To attach legs, cut 8 pieces of the dowel to size based on measurements made in the previous step.

Measure 1 inch from the top of the table legs and drill holes to accomodate longer dowels. Rotate legs 90 degrees and drill a second hole 1 inch below.

Insert dowels into holes and secure with Tite Chairs, making sure longer dowels are in the top holes.

Finish raw ends of legs with matching stain. Insert artwork into frames and set atop dowels.

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From the Magazine: Issue 21