Re-purposed Items Make a Coffee Table

When I got my new (used) couch and love seat, my coffee table looked puny! I was thinking a large square table would be perfect and scoured high and low through used furniture stores, flea markets and Craigslist looking for the perfect one. I never found it! One day I was sitting on the couch and my eye traveled to the unused three panel room divider screen. The wheels of creativity starting turning. I laid the screen down in front of the furniture and realized two panels made a table that was the perfect size.

I took the panels apart and sawed off the legs so the table would be rectangular. I measured the panels and the overall size the table would be once assembled. I had vintage tapered legs salvaged from an old table. I took a trip to the home improvement store. I bought the brackets to fasten the legs to the table. The guy at the store helped me select the chip board I needed to turn my panels into a table. He advised me that the chip board was stronger and cheaper than plywood. I gave him the measurements and he cut the chipboard for me. Assembly was so much quicker when the cuts are already made!

On the bottom side of each panel, I placed one of the smaller rectangles into the the recessed area of the panel under the matchstick material to keep them from dipping down. Then I placed the large rectangle that was cut to the length and width of the finished piece over the panels. I screwed it all together with wood screws.  I attached the brackets and legs. Then I painted the bottom and sides of the chipboard a nice rich brown so it would look more finished.

Once the paint was dry, I flipped it over. I had a perfectly sized table for my space! I put two coats of polyurethane over the top of the matchstick material to make it shed water. I'm so proud of the finished product!