DIY sewing table

This time I'm sharing my DIY sewing table, it was one of the first things I did because I couldn't find what I wanted. I was looking for a table or desk with storage that could be extended so that when not in use I could put it away and it took up little space. 

I chose to make one to fit my needs, part of the material was reused from things I already had, such as the drawer unit that used to be a desk that I cut to make this module, and the metal legs that were part of my old desk, that I also did myself.

The module with the door and the tabletop are both from ikea, the first is a kitchen unit that had the right measurements, I added wheels with brakes so I could move the table when I needed to. 

My initial idea was to have a 150 cm long table with a storage unit on the right, and I wanted something mobile that I could place on the left to make an L-shaped table when I'm working, because I like to have everything close at hand and to spreed the materials I need space. 

So I decided to make a second table with wheels that would fit under the big table when I'm not using it and that I could move and place in other positions as needed. For that, this second table had to be lower than the other one and also narrower because it has to pass between the table legs.  

The main table is 70 cm high (60 cm for the furniture, 7 cm for the wheels and 3 cm for the top) which is the ideal height for me, as the metal legs were small, I had to place a piece of the tabletop over them to get the right height to attach them to the tabletop.

I had a wooden desk that was no longer used and that was just the right depth for what I wanted, it was taller than what I needed it to be but that wasn't a problem because all I had to do was remove a drawer and cut the excess.  

I removed the handles and covered the holes where they were because I chose another type of handle, sanded the wood and painted it white and finally put the new handles on.

I bought a top 2.5 m long from which I made the top for the large table (1.50 m) and from the rest I made the top for the drawer unit, in this case I also had to cut it lengthwise so that the top was small enough so it could pass between the legs of the large table. With the strip of tabletop that was left I made the block for the leg and placed a strip on the back of the large table that, in addition to serving to hold the legs help guide the drawer unit when I put it away.

When I made the table I had a different chair that was narrower than the one I use now so when the project I was doing was fast I often didn't even open the table, with the chair I have now I can't do that because in order for it to fit I have to push the drawer unit a few centimeters to the side, which makes it impossible to open the drawers because it is then blocked by the table leg. To avoid this, I pull the drawer unit to the left until it passes the table leg and leave the table that way when I'm not using it. When I'm working on a project I usually pull the table and put it to the left so that the table makes an L.

For those who want to put this idea into practice, here are some suggestions:

- Start by defining the measurements of the table, height is especially important to avoid back pain, and this varies depending on the height of the user and the kind of use for it, being a DIY table, take the opportunity to make it to your size.

- The length and width also depend on what you are going to use the table, but above all, on the space available. See what the minimum and maximum size the open table can be and then "play" with the measurements to get the two separate compositions.

In my case, I had 2.8 m of length available for the table fully open, I chose to make the table with a measurement of 1.5 m when "closed". Since I placed a 0.60 m width storage cabinet on the right the space available for the extendable part of the table became 0.90 m, but to leave some margin I opted to make the top of this part 0.80 m.

- Define your priorities, decide what is essential on your table. What's more important, a table with plenty of storage or space to stretch your legs? Drawers or doors? Fixed or mobile table? 

- Try to think long term, don't make the table with a very specific objective or measures for a function in case later on your circumstances change and the table becomes outdated.  

I had this problem, the table worked fine with the previous chair but when I changed chairs, I encountered some chalenges, one of them was the height of the chair, the new one is higher, to solve this problem I had to cut the legs of the chair, but I can't do anything about the width of the chair unless I make some major changes to the table.

- Before going to buy material, see if you don't have something at home that you can use or transform, because if you're buying to transform it, it might be worth using an old piece of furniture and buying a new one to replace it. 

Think "outside of the box", don't just look at a piece of furniture and see it as it currently is, imagine what you can do with it, what changes will allow you to use it for another purpose. 

For example, an old side table that is scratched and has long legs might give you the legs for your table, or you can use a bedside table as storage for your table. For the top, you can use an old door or shutters from a window, or an old countertop, you can cover it with fabric or even flooring.

 

After this I hope you feel inspired and that you dare to do it, if you want to share the result I would appreciate it, who knows it will also inspire me for another project.