Bar Stool End Tables -

Time to view my solution to the barn window table saga. You may remember I planned to make end tables from sentimental old windows, and the whole project ended up turning out as something else. Read about it here! Well, since I found a different home for my window table, I was still left with crappy plastic lamp stands for end tables.

I began searching for a solution like I always do:
1. Search Craigslist for good deals.
2. Visit Pinterest for inspiration.
3. Brainstorm building it myself.
4. Get to work!

In this particular situation, I searched Craigslist and found a set of two bar stools that were straight legged for $20! The seats were curved so I decided I would build a flat top and add a shelf to make them into end tables! I found inspiration on Pinterest for a two toned design to pull together my new white TV stand and the espresso tones of our buffet and kitchen cabinets.

I lost the picture I took of the bar stools when I first got them, but this is the basic shape. I had already removed the seat in the picture.

And if you read my blog regularly, you already know what I used the curved seat for…

Why yes, that is a walker for an old person, baby sized for a Halloween costume. You guessed that, right?

Anyways, I found some 1″ thick lumber (it was an unfinished shelf) at a garage sale for $1 I thought would work well for the new table top and shelf. I measured and cut the pieces to size with my table saw. I love that saw, and I have loved it since I used it to install a chair rail in the bathroom. It was a great purchase. The next step for these end table was to paint them white. I haven’t put on the glossy polycrylic coat yet because I want to do some kind of design on them to add interest. Perhaps I will make a stencil? Anyway, I drilled holes and screwed all the pieces together and voila!

The before and after shows an obvious improvement, although I will admit the two end tables do look similar. However, one has style and is made from real lumber, and one costs $6 worth of plastic from Menards.