Before & After: The DIY Fluted & Rendered Coffee Table
If you've been following along here for a little while, then you'll know we're currently working on designing our new Outdoor Kitchen. We started planning in January and have been busy designing the layout, designing the kitchen cabinetry, testing paint colours, choosing light sconces and fittings, searching for the perfect outdoor lounge furniture and planning the elements I can DIY. And that's why I am so excited to show you what I have been working on - introducing you to the DIY Dowel Coffee Table.
The idea for this table came into fruition when I was searching high and low for a beautiful coffee table to place in between out outdoor furniture. I've always loved Sarah Ellison's Paloma Table and felt inspired to one day create a table using dowels (I am also totally in love with her Tide tables in Limestone and Oak). It wasn't until I stumbled across a circular pillar collecting dust in the garage (I bought it two years ago and Jason has been wanting to throw it out ever since) that I realised I had the perfect base to make my own dowel coffee table. I called my lovely friend Maddy from The Essentials Club and I asked her if she wanted to come over and help me. Naturally, she said yes! And as they say, the rest is history. Read on to find out how we made this DIY Fluted & Rendered Coffee Table. And if you haven't already, make sure you watch our tutorial over on Maddy's YouTube Channel here.
This is one of those projects that simmers in your mind for months and months, and you're not quite too sure how it'll go, only to dive in and when it's done, you step back in shock at how beautiful and stunning it actually looks! As you guys know, I love chubby tables (make sure you check out my DIY Wavy Chubby Table, DIY Tiled Chubby Table and DIY Tiled Side Table) and I wanted to create a coffee table that included all the things I loved - a circular chubby stand, dowels and a racetrack tabletop. When I called Maddy, I was stuck on how to come up with a unique finish for the racetrack tabletop. I recently discovered Dulux's Exterior Texture Paint and have been using it on a lot of DIY projects around our house, including this and these. But Maddy came up with the idea to use white grout instead, which I loved and she created the most gorgeous, textural tabletop I've ever seen! So, with all the materials in our hands, we got down to work.
Materials
1 large circular pillar from Kmart
10 x 2.4m x 2.86cm dowels from Bunnings
Hack saw from Bunnings
Clamps from Bunnings
Selley's Wood Glue from Bunnings
Sanding tool from Bunnings
Sheet of MDF from Bunnings
Pencil
String
Jigsaw from Bunnings
PowerFit 24TPI Fine Cut All Purpose Jigsaw Blades from Bunnings
Sanding sheet or sponge
Davco Premix Grout in Bright White from Bunnings
White spray paint
Tile scraper from Bunnings
White exterior paint (I used exterior paint for durability)
Selley's High Strength Liquid Nails from Bunnings
Extra Tip: I ended up sealing the tabletop with two coats of white exterior paint. While the grout has an incredible texture and looks absolutely beautiful, I found it does get a bit dirty. If you don't want to use white exterior paint, you can use a clear spray from Rust Oleum.
How To
Wipe the surface of the circular pillar clean and measure the height of the circular pillar (approximately 38cm).Measure and cut the dowels to size using the hack saw and the clamps to stable the dowels onto your work surface. You will need approximately 54 dowels cut to size.
Apply glue to one cut dowel, then place it onto the circular pillar. Make sure it's straight otherwise your dowels will lean for the rest of this step. Hold it in place for a few seconds. Repeat until you've glued about 5 dowels and place some books up against the dowels to support the dowels until the glue has cured. Repeat until all the dowels are glued onto the side of the circular pillar. Like us, there will be one dowel that doesn't fit. Simply sand down the sides of the dowel until you can squeeze and glue it into the gap. Very easy. Set aside to dry overnight.
Measure and draw out the racetrack tabletop using a measuring tape, pencil and string. You can watch how to do this in these Instagram Stories. Secure the MDF on your work surface using the clamps and cut the racetrack table using a jigsaw.
Sand any uneven edges and the sides for a smooth bespoke finish. Spray paint the racetrack tabletop with white spray paint. When it's dry, apply the grout on top and in a swooshing motion with the flat side of the tile scraper, create a textural pattern on the tabletop. Don't overthink it or try to make it perfect. Just enjoy the process and know that grout starts to cure and set within 10 minutes, so best to finishing swooshing the grout before then otherwise it starts to get chunky and isn't as smooth to work with. Set aside to dry over night.
Completely paint the dowels in white paint. We painted 3 coats. Set aside to dry in between each coat. When the paint it dried, apply Selley's Liquid Nails to the top of the circular pillar then carefully place the racetrack tabletop on top, and make sure it's evenly positioned. Set aside to dry.
And it's done!
I hope you loved watching this project come to life here and over on Instagram and Youtube! I had a blast making this with the DIY Queen Maddy. We couldn't stop smiling. Friends who DIY together, stay friends forever! If you haven't already, make sure to watch our tutorial over on Maddy's YouTube Channel here and follow her as well - her videos are so fun, educational and entertaining. You can also find her on Instagram, Pinterest and she also has a wonderful website filled with fun and sustainable DIY projects that will keep you busy and your heart content.
A little note from me
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this DIY. I hope you enjoyed it and feel inspired to make this too! If you have any questions about this project, please get in touch by sending me an email at jaharn@smorkitchen.com. You can also stay in touch with me by following along on Instagram and Pinterest. Happy making!
