Hey everyone! I'm moving upwards and onward with this office renovation. I know you didn't just think it was a fresh coat of paint and a new floor. I will say though, those 2 things have made a HUGE difference. It's amazing how much brighter it looks and feels in here. There was a month wait between finishing the walls and getting the floors done. While I waited I decided to tackle the next project on my list, a new Work Table. The one I had while long enough, was not deep enough. Projects often hung over the side, so I decided why not build a new one. Off to Home Depot I go.
The table is going to measure 6' x 3'. So I purchased a large 4' x 8' sheet of plywood and had one of the wonderful guys at Home Depot cut it to size for me. I used the big piece for the top, and I combined the left over plus a few other pieces for the bottom.
Now before anyone wonders, I am going to do this project inside. At the time all of my office furniture was in the garage, and being that these floors were going anyway I didn't care if they got trashed. Granted by the time you see this you will have seen the unveiling of the actual room so it should all make sense. First I put the bottom together. I used the left over from the large sheet and bought 2 extra pieces to add to it. I figured out how to create a cutting guide for my saw using a ruler and some clamps. This along with my new saw horses definitely helps with making straight cuts with the Dremel Saw. I'm about to be in business over here.
I put all 3 pieces together using wood glue, and let them set overnight.
I cut 1x4s to the full depth of the table. These will serve as separators for the top. The plan is to place drawers in between for easy accessible supply storage.
I added screws and nails to the bottom for strength. Then I painted what would be the inside of each piece.
After the base was set I added trim around the top edge. It just so happened that the large top piece was a smidgen smaller than the bottom pieces. I added extra to balance it out and add a little visual interest.
It was at this point I realized how heavy and big this piece was going to be. If it had arms it would be building me. It was a task to get it on top of the saw horses so I could paint. I tried to place it on blocks, but it wasn't tall enough. I had to get it up on the horses. It was definitely a task. I don't exactly remember how I managed, but 2 of me would have definitely been helpful.
I gave it 2 coats of Semi-Gloss white paint.
While the piece dried I worked on the legs. These were not going to be normal sized table legs because I am going to build a sitting/standing table. One day while standing at my dining table (which is Pub Table height) I realized that it was the perfect height for a standing and working situation. I also knew that would make it easy to find a chair for when I want to sit and work. I recycled the legs that were on the original table, and added 4" wooden legs to the bottom.
I drilled a hole through the bottom cap, and screwed in the leg addition using Gorilla Glue for reinforcement.
I painted all of the legs white.
To attach the legs I used the same hardware. The wood is only 1/2" thick, and for proper support I need at least 5/8" or 3/4" screws. So I glued down a large piece of craft wood before adding the plates on top.
My friend Herb so nicely helped me bring the whole thing inside and set it up. I decided to call for reinforcements as I did not think dragging it across my new floors was wise. Definitely easier with 2 people.
For the top, I painted my logo. It is a freehand of my initials. However to freehand it on such big surface I knew wouldn't look right. So I decided to make tiles. For those of you who don't know what tiling is, you enlarge an image, and then cut it into smaller pieces. In my case I enlarged it in Photoshop, and split it into pieces that could fit on a sheet of printer paper. I ended up with 20 tiles.
I laid them all out on the table.
I cut out each piece being very careful to maintain the image. I traced the outline of the logo and colored it in using a silver paint marker. I know that probably seems odd considering the design on the wall is gold, but I didn't want everything in here to match. Besides I have other things in the room that are silver so it works. To get the color I busted open one of those Oil-based Paint Markers. The paint in them is amazing, and a great alternative especially when using metallics. It almost gives you the appearance of spray paint. It's a little messy though, so you do need to be careful if you're going to actually open the marker up.
To finish this project off, I made trays. I want certain tools and items to be at my finger tips, so I am adding the trays to further organize some of my stuff. How hard could this be you ask? Well this is where the light at the end of a weekend tunnel, turned into 2 weeks and a redo.
The spaces in the table were 3 1/2", so my trays were going to be 2 1/2". In the art of recycling and saving the environment, I reused some of the pieces from my old desk that is getting replaced. What I didn't have, I bought from Home Depot. I cut all of the pieces to size and painted them white.
For the inside I started with 3 pieces of foam board, and painted them the same color as the walls. I really would have rathered do something cool like a pattern or fabric, but it made more sense to keep the trays neutral and add the color when I organize it. Everything was going good until the paint on the foam board dried. The paint shrunk and caused the boards to curl up something serious. I tried to weight them for a little bit, but that didn't work. Next I had the bright idea to add pieces of solid craft board to the ends hoping that would keep them from curling.
No such luck. Nothing I did was fixing the problem. I even put weights down and they still weren't heavy enough to make them completely flat.
So I cut my losses and started over. Trays: Take 2. I made an emergency craft trip to Hobby Lobby. I purchased 3 new pieces of foam board. Luckily for me they happened to be on sale. For the inside I looked into fabric, but while I was perusing the paper aisle I saw silver poster board and it was also on sale 2/$1.00. I loved the shiny yet neutral nature.
With the new replacement pieces I finished this project in a matter of 48 hours, and it only cost me $9. Can't complain about that. I added the border pieces around the new foam board, and let them dry.
I cut the silver sheets to size, and laid them inside the tray. For security I used double stick tape in the corners.
To complete the trays I added knobs. My instinct was to add fancier ones, but with so much visual stimuli around the room it just seemed like a lot. I grabbed 3 knobs from my supply stash, and spray painted them a light sea foam color.
I screwed them in and there you have it...My brand new work table
I added my work lights back above the table. These helps me get good lighting when working on stuff.
I love it already, and the fact that I can stand at it is all the rage. I will probably get a chair at some point for those moments when I want to sit. I like standing though, it keeps me more engaged. I may do an updated post when I actually organize the stuff inside. Who knows how that's going to work. I'm glad this project is done. I'm actually starting to see it come together.
Well with that...I guess it's on to the next project...or rather back to the ones currently happening. I kid you not there are 3 projects going on in my garage, and another 2 inside. SMH. How did I get here? I can't complain though I bring it on myself.
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