With each new year, I find myself wishing. Not wishing for things but wishing to be a better person- kinder, smarter, healthier. Maybe you wish for the same things? Last year I decided to do something and not just wish. So, I started doing yoga every morning (why does 5am have to come so quickly?!), I took a hip-hop dance class and I challenged myself with new projects. This was one of those projects.
I’m not sure when I became obsessed with exotic décor (especially Moroccan décor ::swoon::), but I am. Maybe Casablanca romanticized it for me, maybe I belong somewhere much more interesting than New England and this is my hearts way of telling me. All I know is that I want my home littered with fabulous throws, tables and paintings I’ve picked up along my travels. But who has time to wait? I certainly don’t know when I’ll get to see all of the wonderful places I want to visit, but that doesn’t mean I can’t adorn my home with some serious flair.
Did I mention that I am obsessed with Moroccan décor? But not just any piece of furniture or art will make the cut, so I had been looking for the right Moroccan tables forEVER, until I decided to just make my own. I mean, how hard could it be? I had never built anything from scratch but I couldn’t let that stop me. Besides, I found this great site that walked me through it (here it is: http://www.home-dzine.co.za/diy/diy-moroccantable.htm). This site took me thru step-by-step buuut I also cheated and used my husband at certain points. He helped to make sure I had the right tools and didn’t chop off any fingers. I think he would feel pretty confident with me doing my next project all alone….maybe.
I won’t take you thru the entire project step-by-step, I think you’d be missing something if you didn’t follow the original instructions. I will however tell you where I modified things, to make these tables work for me.
If there’s one thing I learned from my mother, it’s to read recipes (or instructions in this case!) all the way thru before beginning. And I did, a few times. Since the original site used the metric system I needed to make some calculations and adjustments so I could work in US customary units. I ended up doing the tables in phases, which worked out well for me.
This is what I used for the project, anything I didn’t have on hand I bought (from Home Depot):
- Planks of pressure treated wood, enough to create eight smaller planks that measured 18”x3/4”x5.25” (per table)
- A plank of wood for the table tops (15”x.75”x15”) – (I just found a piece of wood I liked and cut it down to the size I wanted)
- 4 Cleats (1”x1”x3”)- (I just found chunks of wood that I thought would do the job)
- 180 grit sandpaper
- Sponge paintbrushes
- Old socks
- Wood stain
- Varnish
- Metallic paint
- Wood glue
- Screws
- Drill and bits (hole saw)
- Bandsaw (this provided more control than a Jigsaw)
- Table saw (we didn’t have a circular saw)
- Router and bits
- T-square
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Compass
- Clamps
- Eye mask (you may want a face mask too, since it gets dusty)
- The first thing I did was set up my work area. I made sure I had all of the tools and materials I needed, along with the instructions. I worked out in my garage- when I started this project it was warm out so it was the perfect place to work when I got home at night and on the weekends.
- Cut the panels for the base- I cut down the wood I bought- the width was already perfect, so I only had to cut the length using the table saw. It’s important to measure each cut as you go (not all at once). If I had taken my length of wood and measured out each cut before I started only the first cut would have been the right height! You want to measure, cut and then measure again for the next cut. Always make sure your wood is level, so you’re sure to get a straight, even cut. The wood I started with was so long that I had to prop up the end while I was cutting to ensure it stayed flat.
- Bevel the edges of each panel- I used the table saw to bevel the length of each panel. I set it to 22.5 degrees.
- Draw on arches and cut- I used the arch template from the website listed above and traced it onto each panel. My husband cut these out for me, because I found it to be a little tricky. I used a hole saw bit on the drill to start each arch at the top. He used the bandsaw to cut out the rest of the pattern on each panel, this gave him more control than a jigsaw.
- Draw on circular pattern and cut- After drawing on the circular pattern at the top of each panel, I used the hole saw drill bit to cut the pattern out. It took me a couple of tries to get my groove- I splintered the wood on some pieces or had trouble getting it through because of the sawdust build up. But once I got it down it went quickly and was kind of fun. I used clamps to make sure the wood didn’t move while I did this. I also made sure that I was drilling from front to back, so that if the wood did splinter as the drill went thru you wouldn’t see it on the finished product.
- Sand- Sanding the cut-outs on each panel was probably the most annoying part, I ended up wrapping sandpaper around some hard plastic tubing so I could sand all of the curves really well.
- Paint- I painted the insides of the tables first, on one table I used gold paint and on the other I used copper. I tried to use spray paint at first but I didn’t like the way that looked so switched to craft paint, which had better options for metallic paint. I did 3 or 4 coats on the interior, I wanted to make sure the color was rich and the wood grain wasn’t showing thru. Even doing that, I can still see a hint of the wood grain on my finished tables. The problem I noticed using the craft paint (maybe because it’s water based?) is that it made the grain of the wood (in the circular detail) raise. So, after all of that annoying sanding it came out a bit rough. I did light sanding in between each coat to keep it as smooth as possible.
- Put the base together-Line up the panels of one table so that the panels are face down and the tops of the panels are pressing against a flat, straight surface. Make sure the panels are pressed tightly against one another and apply tape to hold them together. I used flexible duct tape and applied the tape down the length where each panel was pressed against another and then across all of the tables at the top and bottom from left to right. When applying the wood glue on the beveled edges I used a small paint brush so not much would leak out when I fit the panels together. I needed my husbands help when rolling the panels into the octagonal shape, I just didn’t have enough hands! While I held the panels in place he tightly taped around the table so it would stay together while the glue dried. We used clamps if there were any spots that weren’t lining up correctly. I wiped off any wood glue that had leaked out from the seams with a damp paper towel and let the tables sit while I worked on the table tops.
- Cut and finish table tops- I bought 1 piece of wood large enough for both tables. I just cut it in half and then down to size for each table. I wanted each table to be about 15” across. Once the tops were cut down to the size I wanted I cut the wood into an octagon. I’m sure there was an easier way to do this, but I took the base of the table (the panels I had glued together) and positioned it in the middle of the wood for the top of the table. I measured out about an inch from each panel and drew a perpendicular line using a ruler. I then used the table saw to cut along the lines I drew, cutting the piece of wood into an octagon. Instead if using trim on the table top, I used a router to make a decorative groove on the table top. I then sanded, painted (the underside), stained and varnished the top of the table.
- Sand and stain base- I used dark wood stain and applied it with an old sock (if you do this make sure you wear plastic gloves so your hands don’t stain!). I found using a sock worked better for me than paintbrushes or sponge brushes, it gave me more control. I did two coats of the stain to get a rich brown color and was careful not to get it on the metallic paint I used on the interior and in the decorative cut-outs. Once it was dry I applied a satin varnish, I wanted it to have some sheen but didn’t want a gloss finish. I applied the varnish using a sponge brush, which worked well. I did a light sanding between each coat which really helped to get a smooth satiny finish.
- Attach cleats- Attach the cleats to the inside of the panels, so that the top of the cleat is flush with the top of the panels.
- Attach table top to bottom panels- Flip the top of the table top over so the bottom is facing up, center the base on the table top and screw the cleat into the top
Voila! You are done! I hope you appreciate these tables as much as I do!
XOXO
