Furniture Archives - Everyday Edits

How to Make a Live Edge Coffee Table with Only a Drill

June 26, 2019

I am married to an entrepreneur. His schedule includes crazy hours and a daily dose of uncertainty and euphoria. His go-to stress release is to work with his hands and power tools. Those coping skills make up for the frenetic paced, bootstrapped business model and thousands of stories reminiscent of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. In a way, my live edge coffee table suggestion was a selfless request with his best interests in mind.

#wink

That was my pitch after I found the live edge coffee table in an Arhaus catalog. I argued our Colorado “brownstone in the suburbs” living room deserved a live edge coffee table.

And the best part of this DIY project? The only power tool needed was a hand-held power drill to attach the legs to the coffee table.

Live Edge Coffee Table Details

My husband found a local source for domestic hardwood slabs. We found our Russian Olive “species” in Denver at a store appropriately named Denver’s Wood Slabs.

We decided on a Russian Olive slab. The details of the wood slabs are on display for the customers.

Our Russian Olive slab was salvaged from a Denver park. Our future coffee table was from Denver and not a factory overseas.

Once we picked the slab, the team cut it to our approximate dimensions for a coffee table. They kept the raw edge on one side and planed and sanded the entire slab.

It was a smooth, dense Olive Slab that required the two of us to prep it for the final steps. The final steps to stain and finish with a top coat were the hardest only because we could not wait to get this table in our living room.

Do not rush these final steps.

Our job was to decide on a stain and meticulously apply layer after layer of stain. Together, over the course of several nights, we applied five coats of stain. We completed a light sanding between coats and patiently waited 24 hours to apply the next coat of stain.

Final Coffee Table Steps

I finished the coffee table with two coats of a water-based clear coat. It took a week to stain and seal the table. We ordered the table’s legs from an Etsy shop. As promised, the only power tool needed for this coffee table was a power drill to attach the legs!

We love this finished look of our live edge coffee table! It would be fun to run down there and see if I can take a few scraps for future fun projects!

Our Russian Olive, live edge coffee table is a little piece of Colorado history in our living room.

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Thrift Store Addiction

Living Room Chaise Wins the Popular Vote

June 24, 2019

We knew we made the right furniture choice when the dog claimed the living room chaise mid-day before the family rolled in after work, school and tennis practice. My husband claims it after work- it is his recharging station. In our house, the living room chaise wins the popular vote.

The unwritten rule is whoever lands on the chaise first, gets the chaise!

It reminds me of when my four siblings and I called shotgun as we ran down the stairs to fight for the front passenger seat in Mom’s Suburban.

The fact that there is no television in our living room, speaks to the chaise’s popularity. With wide cushions and just-enough length, it is perfect for an end of day nap as the rains roll in over the mountains.

We found our chaise at Crate & Barrel. You can find the dimensions and details here. We passed right by this chaise when we did an initial loop around the showroom floor.

We wanted a couch or club chairs to fit the awkward, rounded wall and tiny nook in the living room. The living room is complicated.

Never underestimate the power of pillows

The secret to the chaise’s popularity is with the pillows. My husband and I did not see the vision. But, thank goodness the sales associate pointed out the power of bolster pillows. The pillows make the chaise’s role in our living room flexible. It can be shoved against a wall or “free float” in front of our living room window.

And, the best part of this purchase was it took place during Crate & Barrel’s annual Labor Day sale.

The chaise is comfortable, stylish, flexible and the perfect spot to catch a nap or sneak in a chapter in my latest pick from this site.

The chaise was our Aussie’s favorite place to relax. I used to shoo Tanner off, but as his hips failed, I whispered in his ear, “You earned this Tanner.” We have visions of Tanner on security detail on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

The chaise was such a classy-casual addition to the living room I had to upgrade the rug. All of a sudden my indoor/outdoor rug felt like it belonged outside. I upgraded to this rug for a comfier feel our feet (or paws).

living room chaise for the win

And, with these views, the chaise is the perfect spot to watch the weather roll in over the mountains.

New Dining Room Hutch

June 6, 2019

One of my favorite things to read is the Pottery Barn catalog. It takes me longer to read a Pottery Barn catalog than the latest issue of People magazine. After 30 minutes, page our either torn out or tagged for inspiration. But with tuition, mortgage payments and the costs of my husband’s digital health company, the catalog usually ends up in the recycle bin. But, not last month. Last month I found my new dining room hutch.

Sometimes, non-essential dreams come true.

The dining room hutch was on my wish list for the room.

And, the irony is I didn’t find it in the catalog, I found my new dining room hutch in a hallway next to the bathrooms at Pottery Barn with a hold tag.

So I ripped the hold tag off!

Just kidding! I did not rip the hold tag off!

But, the story doesn’t end there at the store. I went home and checked out the details (price) and dimensions. And that’s when, in the final hours of a Sunday evening, in the top right-hand corner of my screen was a 24-hour flash sale

with a bonus round of **FREE SHIPPING.**

Sometimes non-essential dreams do come true.

I think this is where the term angel investors originated. #wink, #snarky.

Because once the hutch was in my shopping cart I got my sign from the angel investors; the Bowery reclaimed storage hutch was back ordered.

Backordered status translates to no credit card charge until the hutch shipped from Chicago.

I had time to pay it off before it shipped.

I now refer to this as mom’s angel investor club (entirely different meaning in my husband’s vernacular).

So the best part of this new dining room hutch was that it fit perfectly in my little dining room niche AND it was paid in full before it shipped.

The dining room hutch was made from reclaimed wood with rough edges and dark brass hardware. It matched the industrial vibe and the existing dining room table we found on clearance years ago at a furniture store in Denver.

I finally have a place to store the dishes after we tore out the cabinets when we removed the wall.

Here is the dining room ready for spring and maybe new paint!

How to Make a Faux Fur Side Table in Minutes

May 23, 2019

Do you love the faux fur/flokati movement? Let’s go with faux fur because flokati does not roll off the tongue or the page. I love faux fur accessories! Over the course of last year, I purchased and returned faux accessories and rugs multiple times. This was the table I had to to make a faux fur side table.

It took me a year to create a seven-minute faux fur side table. I blame it on our 90+ pound, Bernese Mountain dog, who sometimes answers to her given name,

Chloe. I know, I know.. those big brown eyes.

She’s a curvy, four-legged girl who sheds when the wind blows. And, we love her so much.

I almost forgot about the faux fur side table goals until I found this rug at Homegoods. And, you know what I decided?

We already a house full of fur, what’s a little more. And, at least I will have a faux fur side table to girly up the living room.

And, it was $16.00! I brought the rug home and had the table’s top removed in less than three minutes.

I grabbed my staple gun and wrapped the rug as close to its edges and still cover the table top.

My goal was to have a large enough remnant to create something else that was faux fabulous.

It took minutes to complete the side table top. The only issue was I needed larger screws to reattach the faux fur top to the metal frame.

I love it so much and just need to decide where to place it. I am leaning towards putting in the living room with this rug.

Hmmm… to be continued.

Now I am thinking about what to do with the rest of the faux fur rug.

How to Create a Pottery Barn Knockoff Chaise in Minutes

April 11, 2019

Sharing one of my favorite Pottery Barn knockoffs for our patio. Every spring when the Pottery Barn catalog arrives I scan each and every page. I fold corners, snap photos and/or tear my favorite pages from the 120 pages of swoon-worthy furniture and accessories.

But when I saw the Pottery Barn double chaise it was love (and inspiration) at first sight.

Source: Pottery Barn

Nevermind, I don’t have a pool in my backyard. And, I have dogs that will use my knockoff chaise more than any family member. But we did have a backyard makeover last year that was worthy of a chaise.

Here’s my one-minutePottery Barn Knockoff Chaise.

We purchased two chaises from Costco a few years ago and while rearranging the furniture on our patio I just smooshed these two chaises together and all of a sudden I was channeling Pottery Barn on the patio!

And, the best part of this Pottery Barn knockoff is the cost is way less and pushing to chaises together means I still have the flexibility to separate them. Or, in our case, I moved them to the front deck where our Berner enjoyed the knockoff chaise.

The lesson? Never overthink a solution. I moved the chaise from the front deck to the back porch and back again. Flexibility is the key to any knockoff.

Pottery Barn Kitchen Table Knockoff

March 14, 2019

I was this close to selling my kitchen table on Craig’s List when I saw this table on Pottery Barn’s website. In just a few minutes of side glances over my shoulder and back at the screen I knew I had a PB kitchen table knockoff in the works!

I looked at this table, zoomed in on the base and looked over to my World Market clearance table. This white PB kitchen table turned out to be the inspiration for my Pottery Barn kitchen table knockoff I finished last summer.

My veneer-ish, shiny black table was mix-matched with the shades of blue. I was so close to trading it in for something new.

I painted my round table with this Benjamin Moore color. It is Mascarpone and it is a favorite white at my house. The hardest part about this creamy white is spelling it correctly. I have to Google it everytime.

And, this Pottery Barn kitchen table knockoff is one of my favorites! My kitchen table went from a shiny, veneer-ish finish to a creamy color to brighten the space.

kitchen-table-pottery-barn-knockoff-feature

I think this table is the longest I have kept a piece of furniture free from new paint. Yes, I do touch it up, but I have not wavered in my decision to paint it a different color. I love it!

Dining Room Table is Our Giving Tree

September 5, 2018

Do you know the book, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein? The classic children’s book was described as one of the “most divisive books in children’s literature.” I sided with the tree. You? And, I bet our dining room table wood too. Did you see what I just did? Our dining room table is our giving tree.

Here is her story.

We found our dining room table at a furniture store in Denver. We purchased it when we moved from Westerville, Ohio to Colorado. My traditional, cherry stain furniture did not work in our brownstone in the suburbs home.

My husband and I equally loved this dining room table and like proud parents we were happy to show it off to friends and family.

Like most dining rooms, however, the dining room table was located in the most unpopular room in the house. But over the years, our dining room table carries the load for our family.

Our dining room table turned into the catchall for tennis racquets, shopping bags, sweaty uniforms, and mail. It was our giving table.

Dining Room Table

During the holidays, we cleared the table’s clutter and dust and topped it off with a layer of furniture oil. Seasonal tablescapes were created over her rough edges. Friends shared their interest in our table if we decided to sell our possessions and move into

… a tiny house.

But, it turns out there is a twist in The Giving Tree analogy. Maybe, we gave a little bit of love back to the dining room table.

Let me explain.

During our first Thanksgiving, with a dozen relatives squeezed around our table, we discovered that the rough edges and bumps on the surface were a bit of a challenge for the dining experience.

It turns out the glasses wobbled.. like Weebles.

My husband panicked and had plans to order a glass table top. Over my grey roots (see what I did there)? On that Thanksgiving night, I fell more in love with our table; it wasn’t perfect. The design to create a table for a Colorado home, it turned out, could not keep a wine glass level. The glasses wobbled. Kind of like grandma after her second glass of Chardonnay. Grandma blamed the table.

Maybe it was the table. Our table.

My husband suggested a glass top for the table. I suggested bubble wrap placemats. It turned out, the table’s imperfections became the best conversation starters with a table full of guests (and drinking glasses). And, just like the book, our dining room table gave us a little bit more.

Live Edge Coffee Table Details

Final Coffee Table Steps

Never underestimate the power of pillows

Sometimes, non-essential dreams come true.

Dining Room Table

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