Woman shares her amazing Bunnings upcycle project – a pedestal dining table
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An upcycling enthusiast has shared her latest project on social media – a beautiful pedestal dining table made from an old secondhand laminate table.
“I love taking unexpected items and using them to completely transform something,” said Geneva Vanderzeil, a lifestyle blogger from Brisbane. “I’d fallen in love with pedestal dining tables, but all the ones I could find were at least $1000. So I made this one instead!”
Geneva posted this project on her DIY and upcycle blog, Collective Gen, and we’re loving it!
Here’s how she did it:
Credit: Collective Gen.
Here is the list of the materials she used for the upcycle project:
- An old table to upcycle (or just about any old round tabletop)
- Garbage bin
- Plaster (she used Easy Flow compound)
- Fibreglass joint tape
- Sandpaper
- Penny Round tile sheets
- Tile adhesive or liquid nails
- Tile Grout
- Grout float
- Tile sealer
- Rubber or plastic gloves
- Edging (she used strips of plywood)
- Wood filler
- White paint
She advises fellow DIY-ers that when you are selecting a bin to use as a base for this project, get an industrial strength one that is very sturdy. “I can sit on this bin without any change to its shape, but other bins with thinner plastic wouldn’t be able to hold my weight.”
She also suggests filling the bin with concrete or something else to give it more structure.
The first step is to cover your bin with a plaster compound. But since the bin is plastic, you have to cover the bin first with lines of fibreglass joint tape. Simply cut the tape into strips and stick them on the sides of the bin.
Next, it's time to plaster the bin. Apply the compound on the sides of the bin, working back and forth horizontally. Make sure that the sides are filled with compound and smoothed out. Geneva also notes that it’s important to wait until the plaster is completely dry and well-sanded before adding another layer of compound.
Once your plaster is smooth and dry, attach the base to the tabletop. Take two thick planks of wood (thick enough to bring the height of the table to ideally around 730mm - 750mm) and screw them into the underside of the table, located in the centre where the bin will connect with both.
Turn your bin upside down and screw it into the planks of wood from the underside. Ideally use a size of screw that will go through the wood planks and into the table without going through to the other side.
Credit: Collective Gen.
Now it’s time to work on the tiled tabletop!
The first step is to glue the penny round tile sheets to the tabletop. You can use tile adhesive here but Geneva opted to use liquid nails. Start with a sheet right in the centre of the table and work from the centre going outwards.
“The key to a nice finish with this sort of tile is making sure each sheet lines up,” says Geneva. That’s why it’s important to take your time in lining up the sheet on all sides, and only add glue once you are ready to stick the sheet.
Once you get to the edges of the table, you can cut the sheet and remove the excess or hanging parts.
Credit: Collective Gen.
Now that the tiled tabletop is done, it’s time to work on the edging. There are furniture or laminate edging available in hardware stores, but for this project, Geneva decided to use strips of plywood. She measured the diameter of the table to determine the length of her ply.
Once you have your edging ready, glue it around the table and tape it over to make sure it won’t move while the glue dries. Then use a wood filler to fill the gap between pieces.
Once the glue and wood filler are dry, tape off the tile and paint the edging white (make sure your paint is water-resistant!).
Once the paint dries, it’s time to grout over the tile.
Wear a pair of protective gloves and with your hands, gently spread and push the grout to fill in the gaps on the tabletop. Work in circular motions and make sure not to miss a spot. Then use a grout float to smooth it all over. Leave it to dry overnight.
The next day, spray a grout and tile sealer over the whole tabletop to ensure it is waterproof. This one will be a dining table, after all!
Credit: Collective Gen.
Are you looking to do this project, too? Share your progress photos with us in the comments below!
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