2021-12-18
I've gotten a lot of replies to my post about being stuck in a loop. It's nice to know I'm not alone 😊 I'll probably return to that topic in a couple of days when I've digested the answers and whatever thoughts they spark.
But today I did something completely unexpected: I built a table.
My flat is quite spartan and I've landed in the mindset that I won't get anything for it that I don't feel like I need. No furniture to fill the empty space, so to speak. With having friends over to lounge around more lately I've found that I actually do need a table in front of the sofa for them to place tea cups or dessert plates. Getting around to actually getting a table is apparently challenging, or at least bothersome.
The prospect of a living room table has been left to stew slowly in the back of my head. Then yesterday afternoon I went out for a walk, and suddenly remembered that we have a hardware and wood store within walking distance. And that they were still open.
I decided to go there, but I had no idea what I wanted. I asked the clerk for "scrap wood" and they looked at me quizzically and wondered what it was I wanted to do. I didn't really know if "I have no idea what I'm doing but maybe a table," was a good answer so I went with "Just some crafting in general. Practicing, you know?" They gave me directions to a small container where they toss stuff like sawed off end pieces or broken or otherwise useless wood.
They had all kinds of treasures there! Borders, wall panels, boards. I found seven sturdy wood panels for outdoor use cut to 50 cm. Another four panels for indoor use all cut to about 103 cm. All of these panels are already painted white! I grabbed those and some borders and came back to the counter all hyped.
Me: "This is awesome! I can build a living room table out of this! How much is it?"
Clerk: "Oh? Okay. Uh... Just take it. Come by with a cookie jar some day. Ginger snaps are popular."
A jar of ginger snaps is $3.
I already had some glue, screws, sandpaper, screwdriver, drill, and saw. It probably took around four or five hours split in two sessions over the day to finish, and I'm really happy about the result!
Here's a picture of the result from above.
And here's one from underneath, to show the stabilising elements of the design.
This was without question the cheapest living room table I could find, and it goes well with my home built desk and wardrobe and my second (or probably third or fourth by the looks) hand dining table and dining chairs.
Tomorrow is definitely cleaning day... I'll need to vacuum and mop pretty much everything to get all the sawdust out. Worth it! 😄
-- CC0 Björn Wärmedal
