Always Need A Table That Floats

Everyday when it is time to leave I grab my purse, search around for my keys, and head out the door. Then half of those times I get in the car, turn on the ignition, and end up having to come back in the house because I forgot my Ipod. (You know I can't drive too far with only a radio option.) I decided it was time to finally build an entry way table by the door. I'm slightly over having to look for my keys before I leave the house. So, to the lab I go. The area I want to utilize is not very big, and I didn't want it to be too intrusive into the space.

A full on table seemed like it would be too much so, I decided on a floating shelf instead. Now the only thing to do was figure out the shape. The obvious decision would have been a semi circle or rectangle but, I have to be honest both of those ideas sounded boring to me. I wanted visually interesting.....but still functional. So, I decided to do my own custom shape. I had some left over foam board in the closet. Since I wasn't putting anything too heavy on the table I figured this would be sturdy enough. I cut 2 pieces and glued them together in the angle of the wall. Then drew and cut out the shape that I wanted for the table.

Once the shape was done I cleaned up the edges and used paper mache to create a smooth surface for the top and sides. Now for most people this would have been it, but unfortunately it wasn't perfect enough for me. I went back and filled in any imperfections with paint medium and covered it again with poster board to get an even smoother and more perfect look. The completed project got 2 coats of semi-gloss spray paint. 

I was pleasantly surprised at the finish. It came out a lot better than I thought. However, I bet everyone figured out one thing. I didn't say I LOVE IT! Once it was done I started looking at it, and was slightly less than excited. I don't really know how I feel about it. The finish was nice, but it still wasn't as perfect as I wanted and honestly I'm kind of already over the shape. It just looks weird to me. I screwed the brackets to the wall, and placed the shelf on top. As I did this I realized that one of the brackets came out further than the shelf. Damn, damn, and SUPER damn! I leave it for a couple of days thinking maybe I'll be okay with it. At this point I really don't want to start over. Who am I kidding though...there is no way I'm going to live with this (And even if I was okay it, my slight OCD surely was not). I decide to just scrap it and start all over. This project = FAIL!

Entry way table ... TAKE 2

Alright people let's do this for real this time. I am not doing this a 3rd time so, this it it! This time I started with the brackets. I got these ones from IKEA. I wanted to make sure the shelf hung over the brackets. 

Next, I got a piece of poster board and free handed the table shape. Last time I was over it after the first day. This time I wanted to make sure I liked the shape long term. Glad I did too. I must have changed my mind like 10 times before I actually settled on this. I don't know why I didn't think of this the first time. 

Now that I settled on a shape, I transfer it on to the foam board and cut it out. As you can see I changed the shape one last time. *Shaking my head*

To cover the edges I doubled up 1 inch strips of heavy weight poster board and hot glued them around the outside. At this point I am feeling this shelf. Sooo glad I started over. I can't wait for it to be complete. 

Again, I paper mached the whole thing to create one uniform hard surface. I set it aside overnight to dry. Much to my surprise when I get home the next day it has warped. *Insert sad face here* Everything was going so well too. So, like most things I took to Master Google to find out what happened. Apparently as the paper mache and newspaper dried, the paper shrunk and caused the piece to bend inward. What a pain! *Insert angry face here* (You know they should really have emoticons on this blogger thing. Who doesn't have emoticons? Everyone has emoticons.) I tried to just put weights on it so it would flatten back out. This didn't seem to do the trick though. I decided to put another layer of paper mache and used weights to flatten it while it dried. 

So, while I wait I decided to make a mirror. I somehow wanted to bring the stripes from the other wall somewhere else in the room. I bought a wooden frame from Michaels and painted it with black and white stripes. Then I used a mirror I had laying around from another project I did awhile back. 

Back to the shelf. After the second round of paper mache it seemed as though we had soften the bend , but not completely gotten rid of it. The surface though mostly smooth still had a little ripple in it. It looks like I'm back to square one on how to flatten it and get a smooth surface on top. I thought for a little bit, and decided to try mat board. I guess it's back to Michaels. (You know I wonder if the people who work in there notice me, and how often I am in there.)

 I sprayed the whole shelf with spray adhesive, and pressed the mat board down on top. I then turned the whole thing over and weighted it so it could dry overnight. I used paint cans as weights and magazines to flatten the sides. I'm crossing my fingers that this will do the trick. 

I woke up the next morning, and the mat board was looking good. I cut off the excess and was quite impressed. The mat board wasn't hard to cut either. (I might be on to something with this mat board.) It's looking good now. I'm pleasantly surprised! I should have done this in the first place. Now, in some place the spray glue didn't get a good enough hold so I hit it with the glue gun to reinforce in a few spots. While the glue is drying I did a little clean up on the edges. At this point I'm loving it. Only thing....it's still a little bent so I need to figure it out.

After learning that the paper mache shrunk when it dried, I figured since I only placed it on one side it caused that side to bend inward. I decided to paper mache the under side and let it bend the other way. Smart thinking huh? I again used the magazine holders as weights to help hold it in place while it dried. 

2 days later VOILA! Perfect table and no bend. YAAAAAYYYY!....(Finally!). Now, it's time to paint. First, I spray painted the bottom. Since the bottom technically would not be seen I just gave it a light coat, so the color would blend. (Never know when someone will be crawling on the floor. Don't want them to get a surprise.) 

Once that was done I flipped it over and painted the top. I used Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch in semi-gloss black. Now, let me just say if you are ever painting anything black, this is by far the best paint I have ever used. It gives the darkest most rich black look of any paint brand. Once it was painted and dry it was time to hang. I placed the shelf on the brackets and used some black electrical tape on the under side for extra hold so it wouldn't move. 

and...TA-DA!!

We finally have a floating entry way shelf. YES YES YES! (I know that sounds slightly inappropriate....It's kind of the exhilaration I feel though. So we're going to go with it.) Now, add in the mirror and this is the whole picture.

What do you think? I'm so excited, and officially LOVING IT! I just need to add an accessory or 2 and we're in business. The thought of no longer having to cross the room to get my keys, or forget my ipod on the way out gives me the warm and fuzzies. Now if only the rest of the office would come together this nicely. All in due time though.

On to the next project.....