So, let's talk about this skinny little space on my porch.
It's snuggled between the end of our L shaped couch and the sliding glass door to our dining room. This 3-season porch is not very large, in fact, it's quite tiny; but, it's a great place to relax, read, nap, and have a drink with my honey or a few friends and I love it. It's been quite a long time since I've freshened it up, and I wanted to start with creating something new.
For quite awhile I have had a skinny metal table that was a bit wonky and not all the useful because you couldn't get to the bottom shelf. I pondered quite a bit about what I wanted here, and decided to build a box like base, on wheels, with an elevated top with some galvanized pipe - because I see it all over Pinterest and I knew it would be a fun element to add. Here is what I built:
And here's how it all went down...
First, the tools and supplies. My trusty miter saw (yes, it's mine, not hubby's), Gorilla Glue (the best glues and tapes on the market, hands down!), 1/2 inch threaded galvanized pipe and 1/2 inch galvanized floor flange fittings, screws for the flanges, spray paint for the pipe, drill, brad nailer, wood filler, pine boards (the box stores have them already in shorter finished pieces that are easy to work with), sanding block, a square, a level, pull hardware, paint, antiquing glaze, and 4 rolling feet .
I totally built this table from the bottom up. I used the pine boards to build the box at the bottom using my needed dimensions and my miter saw. My whole idea was to have a storage place for books or a throw. I cut my 1 inch board into two 19" lengths and used one as the box bottom and one as the top shelf. I then used my 1/2 inch boards to build the box sides. These were attached on the upper sides of the box so I could brad nail from the bottom. This leaves the sides without holes to fill as they are on the bottom. I dry fit everything first, then glue and brad nail.
On the front and back of the boxes I made sure that my ends were facing the sides so it looked "finished" from the front. I filled in the holes with wood filler. Once I had it to the box point, I sanded to soften the edges as well as the end cuts of the wood.
I painted the box and the top with Valspar paint in a soft turquoise color which matches my new pillow fabric (coming soon to the blog). After I did two coats, I sanded again and then used a Valspar Antiquing Glaze in Burnt Umber. I have literally had this glaze for 5 years and it's just as good as the first time I opened it. It too came from Lowes and has been used on so many projects including our kitchen cabinets. This glaze gives the painted parts a softer aged/weathered look and because it's a hint of brown it pulls the piping materials in as well.
Speaking of the piping materials, I washed them well with soap and water and then spray painted them outside with Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze (ORB). The pipes may feel and smell a bit greasy. I was worried that the paint would not adhere to them, so cleaning them got rid of the greasy feel and smell. Once painted I did not have any problems with chipping paint.
They took the paint well. I always spray in light coats, multiple times so that the paint in even and without drips.
Here's a tip on buying pipe:
FIRST: Make sure that your threaded pipes screw smoothly into your flanges and are straight. Because this is pipe that is for hidden construction, the threads are not always perfect and your pipe can screw in at an angle. No matter what you do, it will not go in straight. This is fine for work behind walls, but if you are using it on a furniture piece, you want it straight. Just work with it in the aisle when buying.
SECOND: There are different widths of pipe in the aisle. Read the placards carefully and make sure you have matching pieces. It's not a one-size fits all. The smaller width pipe would work here as well, but I wanted to use the larger width so that it looked more substantial.
LASTLY: Have your build plan in place so that you know what you will need. I spent some time in the pipe aisle looking at the different flanges, couplings, pipe width, etc. It was interesting examining all of the different options and gave me ideas for other things to DIY. If you are not ready to build something yet, go to that aisle and take a picture of all the different aspects. You can also go online at Lowes and see what they offer as well. I also watched several YouTube videos of people building pipe furniture so I could get ideas and see where they made suggestions.
After the pieces were painted and glazed, I added the wheels to the bottom of the box and the flanges to the inside of the box.
I then screwed in the pipes and then screwed the flanges on top of them.
Now comes the most important part. I placed the top on those flanges and placed the level on top to make sure it was as close to level from side to side and front to back. I had to screw the flanges up and down on opposite sides to get as close to level as I could.
I also used the level from bottom to top to make sure the at the top was as closely aligned to the box bottom as possible. From here I used a pencil to mark the flange holes on the underside of the top.
I drilled starter holes in the underside, flipped over the box and pipe bottom and screwed the flanges in place to the top.
I added the pull and it was done. Here it is, snug in it's place on the porch.
I am really proud of it. It's not perfect...like, I wouldn't sell it or anything, but it's perfect for this space and for what I envisioned in my brain.
Stay tuned for it all decorated when I post my porch reveal soon.
Let me know if you have built a pipe furniture piece. I've got my eye on a Pinterest pin for my laundry room!
Now I've got pillows to recover!
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