Four Legs + HOUSE: Newburgh + Scavenging

Weekend scavenger makeover!

See our cute new tray table? I love it! But it hasn’t always been so nice…

traytable1.jpg

First I found this nasty little stool:

Then I saw this worn out Swedish tray:

And I thought, hmmm…the stool has nice legs, and that carpet probably comes right off…so…we bought both, despite Evan’s resistance. I got to work right away pulling out the staples holding the carpet (latch hook, actually!):

Happily, what was under the stinky carpet turned out to be ugly-but-smooth melamine on top of seriously water-damaged plywood:

A quick coat of flat black paint to hide the edges of the plywood, some gentle care with Murphy’s Oil Soap and SC Johnson Paste Wax (the two things you absolutely need if you have a lot of wood floors and wood furniture!) for the tray, et voilà! Stool + tray = a perfect little table, for next to no cost.

Bruno agrees (Evan does, too)!

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18 Comments

  • Reply sandra October 30, 2007 at 3:25 am

    it is so beautiful, worth all the work you’ve put in it. wow! with that rug and dog – almost too beautiful 😉

  • Reply k.i.s.d. October 30, 2007 at 5:51 am

    You have an artistic eye for sure. I’ve never come up with this table beginning with a tray and a stool. Nice work.

  • Reply Adam October 30, 2007 at 9:08 am

    Fabulous! I need to be more inventive like you!

  • Reply Adam October 30, 2007 at 9:09 am

    By the way, that was a seriously ugly little stool!

  • Reply Barb McMahon October 30, 2007 at 9:58 am

    Great save!

  • Reply Jaimie October 30, 2007 at 10:15 am

    I was just thinking in that first photo that your rug looked like your dog!

    Nice work on the table. I have quite a different aesthetic than you in my own home, but I really appreciate what you do and find it beautiful and interesting.

  • Reply katie October 30, 2007 at 10:50 am

    Great finds and bit of DIY!!!

  • Reply nicole October 30, 2007 at 11:35 am

    genius!

    and i love how bruno blends into the rug. now you see him, now you don’t.

  • Reply lena October 30, 2007 at 11:43 am

    that is brilliant, and i need that wood paste wax!

  • Reply Anna at D16 October 30, 2007 at 12:01 pm

    Lena, you can get the wax at Lowes! I don’t know of any other place to get it (other than mail order). It’s great stuff.

  • Reply camilla Engman October 30, 2007 at 12:17 pm

    This is great! So simple and yet not many people would think about doing it.
    Your dog is so cute. Morran has a friend almost like him.

  • Reply lesley October 30, 2007 at 1:40 pm

    FABulous.
    I used to rug-hook when I was a kid. Heh.

  • Reply dayataglanceblogspot.com October 30, 2007 at 8:42 pm

    you are a genius!

  • Reply lavinia October 31, 2007 at 6:21 am

    Great! I like it, it goes really well with the rest of your furniture. I also admire your vintage unit (in the dining room) very much. I wish we had something similar!

  • Reply Anna at D16 October 31, 2007 at 7:26 am

    Thank you for all the nice comments about my humble little table, everyone! 🙂

    Lavinia, the Eames unit in dining room isn’t vintage, actually…we bought it new. Herman Miller is still producing them (57 years since they were first introduced):
    http://dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=6727

  • Reply sulu-design November 3, 2007 at 2:05 am

    Pure genius!

  • Reply Nina November 12, 2007 at 9:28 am

    Wow, this is so inventive! What an amazing DIY-idea!

  • Reply Taru February 20, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    did you attach the tray to the stool or is it sitting on top? beautiful!

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