A Table with Mid-Century Flair

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I love these pre-glued flat panels for making small tables, so I picked up a couple at my local home improvement center when I decided to make a mid-century end table for my son’s apartment.

The end tables from this era were simple. Oftentimes, they were little more than a box on legs. This means you can decide on the dimensions you want, then cut, nail, glue, and clamp the two sides, top, and bottom together quickly.

Speaking of the bottom, the next step was to screw four “hairpin” steel legs to the underside of the box. If you are lucky, you might find a pair you can salvage off another table in a second-hand shop.

Mid-century finishes were often light colored, so for my son’s table I skipped the stain and went directly to a great new clear finish: Minwax® One Coat Polyurethane. It’s water-based, so clean-up is easy, there are no fumes to need to vent, and it dries in a matter of minutes!

Naturally, I couldn’t wait for Blake to come home for a weekend before seeing how the table would look in my office. Maybe he won’t remember to take it back…..

Until next time,

Thanks for stopping by!

Bruce