Thursday, August 22, 2013

Squared2 Dining Table, Patterned Glass Support

On Wednesday, I prepared myself for an afternoon of dining table top building.  I measured my first two boards twice, clamped them on the miter saw, and turned to the left to see my husband, who said, "We just lost power."  It seems a power pole was on fire in front of our city mall, and our power consoles were registering 80 instead of the usual 120.  Some fans turned extra slowly, while other things would not turn on at all, like my saw.
Now, 6 days later than planned, we finally traded our deteriorating particle board computer desk for our own dining table!  I still have to fill and paint the inside frame and the underside of the pattern, but otherwise, it's ready to use.  =D


I added glazier points in the corners due to the large areas without 2x2 support.




Katja, of Shift Ctrl Art, set a word for August, which happened to be my Kitchen Basics month.  That word is:

This dining table was inspired by several sources.  The legs were inspired by the spur of the moment furniture I've built for our house: our Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table and our Modern Scrap Wood End Tables.  I just found on Katja's blog that she made the exact same table leg design before our design came into fruition, although I had no idea!  (How interesting!) The table top was made to coordinate with our Squared2 Dining Chairs, which is based on a design by west elm, and brought to life via plans by Ana White.  Inspiration, I find, allows for our own unique perspective to shine through, while "standing on the shoulders of giants."  

I must heartily thank my good friend Joanne for patiently encouraging me, for sharing ideas for building in kind, and for even checking my measurements so that this process went smoother than it could have gone otherwise.  Joanne is an amazing builder.  Since I've known her, she's been working on building or planning to build something nearly everyday with a consistency that can only underlie passion.  I've absolutely been inspired by you, Joanne!




  • 2x2 @ 6 - 4ft. boards ($18, Home Depot $16, City Mill, $2)
  • 1 sheet acrylic, 30" x 60" @ 1/8" thickness ($50, City Mill)

  • Ryobi 7.5" Miter Saw (already owned)
  • Hitachi cordless drill (already owned)
  • Kreg Jig Jr. Pocket Hole Jig and Drill bit (already owned)
  • 1-1/4" Kreg pocket hole screws (already owned)
  • 2-1/2" Kreg pocket hole screws ($5, Lowes)
  • Measuring tape, pen (already owned)

The dining table top and acrylic top cost me $73.  Including the $15 leg frame, this table cost $88, $50 of which was for the acrylic sheet.


Designing the dining table

Here are the measurements I made and followed for our dining table:


Below is my original plan for our dining table, although the one thing that has changed is my choice of glass.  The annealed and tempered glass cut locally would have cost upward of $250.  We honestly can not afford that glass, so we plunkered down $50 for 1/8" acrylic instead.  It may be more durable and safer while our daughter is still young (and mommy who hammers at things everywhere.)  :)


Making the patterned table top















Cutting plexiglass for the top






I surely hope this thin plexiglass will work as our table top, at least for a few years.  :)

We've decided to leave the wood in a natural state for now, although I will paint the underside of the pattern and the inside of the table frame either black, white, purple, or teal, since those are colors we have present in our kitchen already.

Any suggestions?  :)


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22 comments:

  1. Ahh! How frustrating to lose power in the middle of a project. Good luck. I'm sure this is going to turn out great. :)

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    1. Thank you so much! =D Power outages are always a reminder of our dependence on electricity. As soon as the fans went off and the Hawai'i humidity struck us, my family reacted as if life had ceased. Hah!

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  2. Your design looks lovely and elegant! I'm sure that you'll have success on this project, and it will be beautiful!

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    1. Thank you for believing in me, Joanne. :) It's coming together!

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  3. Marvelous!! I am so impressed with your mad skills! Thank you so much for sharing this! Your tutorial on how you put together the design makes it so understandable and clear! Also I'm so glad to see how you did plexiglass. I haven't had success with it yet, but will keep these pictures handy next time I need to cut some. Way to go Yvonne!! :) :) You've inspired me! I'm thinking now of what I can build with glass. :) I'll be seeking you out when I'm ready to tackle that!

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    1. :) I am looking forward to your glass project! =D I'm crossing my fingers that I get home from work in time to put everything together for a photo! I am not a fan of delaying the completion of these posts, but I am doing my best. :)

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  4. I love what you said about inspiration - I find inspiration in things every day. Inspiration is an additive thing, kind of like light. It does not take away from anything for someone to take inspiration from life around you and other people, it just continues to add and build. :)
    Hope the acrylic is working out, good idea about using that with a little one in the housee. Have a great week! Sharon

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    1. I love what you've said about inspiration! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Sharon.

      The acrylic looks like it will work out, but sanding (my least favorite part) is taking me days, since I only have about 30 minutes available to work on the project each day. I need to be a little less ambitious about my time! =D

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  5. I just saw the update with the glass in place - oh my gosh it is fabulous! Love love it! :)

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    1. Thank you, Joanne. :) I'm sorry it took so long!

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  6. Oh wow! This looks great! You sure have a great talent!

    I would love for you to share this post (and any others!) at my Life of the Party link up. It just opened! Im going to poke around your site a little more.
    http://thegrantlife.com/life-party-2/

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    1. Thank you for your kind words, Kelly. :) It would be my pleasure to join your party!

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  7. That table completely ROCKS!!!! I am Always so impressed with your talent for building. I can't wait to share your work with my rraders in my Monday round-up post. Thanks so much for playing along, Yvonne :)

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    1. I had fun playing along! It's nice to feel a part of something other than this little page. :) Thank you for your supportive comment. =D

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  8. Wow! The table looks amazing! You did an incredible job. I love the swiss crosses in the middle. What a great pattern! Thanks for taking the challenge this month!

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    1. Thank you for your kind comment, Amber. :) I can not take credit for the pattern, but we do love having it as our dining table!

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  9. Yvonne, this is great! Thank you for linking up at the Remodelaholics Anonymous party this weekend. I just emailed you through your Google+ profile about featuring you and this table (once it's finished) on Remodelaholic -- hopefully you got it! Either way, drop me a line at hello@remodelaholic.com if you're interested in being featured and we can discuss the details. Thanks!

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    1. Thank you so much for the opportunity, Lorene! :) I'm so excited, and now nervous that I'll "finish" the piece in the worst way possible. Haha! =D

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  10. Your table looks beautiful, you've really done a wonderful job with that! Great tutorial too, thanks and I've got this linked to my DIY dining room tables post as well today!

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    1. Thank you so much for linking back to my dining table! =D I appreciate that you linked to my tutorial too!

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  11. I LOVE this table! I wanted to do the squares instead of the rectangles for my outdoor furniture, but I was scared, it looked too difficult. :)

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    1. Thank you, Beth! Your outdoor furniture looks great with the rectangles - love them! :)

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