There is so much that Tim has built or created that I have not shown you (don’t worry, they will make appearances at some point!), but I thought I would end this “husband highlight” segment with a table that will take us into all the before and after’s of CLEAN SLATE!!
When working with a budget of $1200, which has to stretch over 8 rooms, you have to get crazy creative. And that is just what Tim and I did! The table you are about to see was another one of those collaborations between Tim and I. And I am happy to say it’s one of my favorite pieces ever! Take a look!
NOW, would you believe that “table” used to look like this?
YES, this table used to be an electrical spool!!! And what makes this transformation even more perfect is that is pays honor to the homeowner’s job as an electrician!!!!
Now of course we did not want people to look at the table and immediately think, “Oh, that’s an electrical spool,” so we made a few modifications.
We squared off the bottom of the spool and added some small feet to raise it off the ground a few inches. Then, Tim worked his magic and created one of his famous concrete tabletops! This time however, he added a twist by adding an edge of steel. We both like the difference in texture and color it creates!
If you ask me, it looks A LOT like this incredibly expensive table from Restoration Hardware! Congratulations Dugan family, you just got a $2500+ table for free!
Here are a few pictures of the process.
Although the table was rather cheap to fabricate, the labor was INTENSE. I know many of you may ask for a tutorial, but it is important to remember some of the stuff Tim and I do are not DIY projects. We are professionals and can only create products like this because of our years of experience, quality mentors, and quite honestly- trial and error! So, I am so sorry, but there will not be a tutorial on this particular table. 🙁
HOWEVER, the dreamy driftwood chandelier hanging above that handsome concrete top is TOTALLY DIY! Check back in a few days for the full how-to tutorial!!
I LOVE the look of the hand-troweled top!
Here is a BEFORE AND AFTER of the entire room.
BEFORE
AFTER
The homeowner loves high contrast spaces which makes the black and white color palette perfect. Not to mention the chalkboard wall will surely provide hours of kid friendly entertainment. The dining chairs were gathered from garage sales and craigslist while the chandelier (before the driftwood redo) was picked up from Habitat for Humanity REstore!
The total cost for this transformation= about $130!!! (Labor not included of course!!!) 🙂
It looks like the chairs are too low for the table…is my eye being tricked here?
Hello Anonymous,
No, your eyes are not tricking you! Actually Mr. Luke (one of the sons) is in a wheel chair, so we made the table a little taller than normal. Unfortunately we were not able to afford taller chairs for the other family members, so they will have to sit a little lower than normal until they get some different ones. Thanks for asking!!!
I love this! I have a question about all the concrete counters you do. How do you care for them? We had black concrete countertops professionally done in our kitchen 2 years ago and have yet to wax them. The guy who did them said to wax them with a paste wax. I bought the only paste wax I could find in Home Depot, which is Johnson’s paste wax. The lady at Home Depot thought that was weird to use on concrete countertops and suggested using a beeswax that is used on other types of countertops. What do you use? Also, we have a chip in ours that our concrete guy said to seal with polyurethane and then wax. What do you think?
Thanks so much! Love all your work!
Hey Kara,
I love this table! I have a question for you…I noticed you have the blue dwell rug from Target in your guest bedroom. I have it in our bedroom on our wood floor and have fuzz everywhere. I have tried vacuuming it all the time but I just don’t know what to do.
I am still trying to get my designer friends together to redo some rooms at local YWCA to for ladies from our church. Your after pics really inspired me!
Thanks,
Ingrid
Hey Kate!
Tim and I originally used beeswax (which works). You just have to re-coat when you notice cups leaving water rings. Now, however we have coated ours with a sealer. I will have Tim comment and leave the name of it and any recommendations for the chip in your concrete.
Hey Ingrid!!
To be honest, I haven’t noticed my rug “shedding.” Because it sits in the guest bedroom it doesn’t get a lot of traffic. My living room rug however does the same thing! As far as I know it is normal and eventually the shedding should stop. Sorry I don’t have any tips. 🙁
Hey Kate,
This is actually Kara’s husband Tim. You can definately use beeswax on your countertop. We stopped using it because it seems to wear off so fast and the little protection that it offered wasn’t worth the hassle to me.
I use a sealer by GST International. You can find a dealer on their website. I use the Satin Seal but they offer gloss or matte finish as well. Their sealers are marketed as floor sealer, but it works for countertops as well as any I have seen. This is what I would use to seal your chip.
Thanks Kara and Tim! So…I went ahead and followed our concrete installers instructions after testing a corner of our countertop that wasn’t very visible (in case it messed it up!). I used satin minwax polyurethane on the chip and then used Johnson’s paste wax on the whole countertop. It works and looks great!
I am curious about the GST International sealer though. Do you only use this once you’re done with your countertops? Is that the only finish you have on them or do you use a wax occasionally too? I know you no longer use beeswax but I was curious if you just leave the countertops with the sealer protection only and if you have to re-seal every few years. I thought the purpose of the wax was to protect the sealer?
And, side note. I love that you use concrete. It is such a beautiful material and really is amazing. Our countertops seem to heal themselves…water left on the counter will leave white rings, but it goes away quickly. And we had some friends who left a bottle of vodka out on the counter which left white rings where I guess the vodka dripped down the sides (new years party). After several days of it not going away, I was prepared to lightly sand the area down and re-seal it. By the time I had a free weekend to do it, it was gone! It’s such a lovely material. (Sorry for such a long comment, but thank you for the advice)