My DIY Bedside Table!

 Over the past few weeks I've developed an obsession with side tables. You see, I needed one, and when I need a piece of furniture, I get crazoid trying to figure out how to make it.

 And here's what I cannot figure out about the side tables in the stores. Why are they so short? I saw lots of cute ones at Target, and when you take one off the shelf and set it on the floor, you realize that it only comes halfway up your shins. And I loooove the martini tables at West Elm, but oh my goodness. I went into the store to see them, and they had them sitting on top of dining tables like they were cake stands. That's how tiny they are. I mean, there's low/sleek/modern, and then there's miniature.

So I made one! I used a cardboard building tube from Lowes, two wood circles, and strips of shiny vinyl. Here's the skinny:

The cardboard tube comes in a 4 ft length. My local Lowes stocks the 8" and the 12" diameter, but I think the Sonotube website has a larger selection. I went with the 8" diameter. I cut a 27" piece. Yes, twenty seven inches tall! To cut the tube, first mark the tube, then cut sort of on a tangent. Remember geometry? I looooved geometry!

Once you've cut through the cardboard, you can insert the saw into the hole and cut around.

I used a keyhole saw that I got at Target for $7. This scrappy little saw has changed my life. I do everything with it, I swear. I cut the bottom circle with it, too. Rips right through 1/4" mdf.

I got my wood circle table top at Lowes, too. It was about $16, and it's 24" wide! Yay! I can put sooo many martinis on it! So back to work...place the cardboard tube on the tabletop and center it. Trace a circle. Screw bits of scap wood inside the circle.

Now stand up the tube and place the table top on it. Screw through the cardboard into the scap wood bits.

Attach the bottom the same way. I cut my bottom circle a little smaller than the top (18"). You can buy another circle (Lowes sells lots of sizes) but I cut mine from mdf I had on hand to save $.

Paint and polyurethane! I wanted the top super shiny so I used a high gloss polyurethane. The tube is just white primer, because it won't show very much.

While the paint dries, you can cut a million little strips of vinyl. Mine are 2" wide and 36" long. I didn't really cut a million. I cut 25. More geometry! Yay!

Tack the vinyl on like this. I spaced the strips an inch apart. I used regular thumbtacks, but you could get fancy and use upholstery nails.

Now wrap one strip around the middle like a belt and temporarily clip the edges of it together with a binder clip. Weave the long, hanging strips under the belt.

Pull each strip under the table so that they're smooth and tight and temporarily attach with tape until you figure out the spacing and tension you want. When you like the way it looks, you can replace the tape with staples. Also, remove the binder clip from the belt and secure it to the cardboard with tacks.
All done!

Total Cost
table top:  $16
tube: $3
table bottom: free, leftover scrap from another project
vinyl: $4 (one yard with a 50% Joann coupon!)
tacks: $4

That's $27!!! And it's shiny and tall and I love it!