DIY

1/18 Resolutions: DIY Simple Side Tables

DIY 

SIMPLE WOOD SIDE TABLES


I recently created my list of "18 in 2018" inspired by the wonderful Happier with Gretchen Rubin Podcast and I'm proud to say that I checked off the first item on my list--making side tables for our living room! 

My list is kind of all over the place, but quite a few of them relate to making our home more personal, intentional, and calm. One thing that can make our house less calm is having lots of clutter. My husband has nicely observed to me, "you sure have a lot of art supplies around the house" (and not quite as nicely says when other people ask where I make art: "Everywhere"). So, to try to manage the clutter making art creates, I made it a goal to make two simple, inexpensive side tables with storage capacity. 

Enter wood crate + sand paper + wood stain and ... voila! You've got a super simple side table. I'm really happy with how these turned out, and they cost a grand total of $15 each. I ordered two of these wood crates and this wood stain from Michaels (it's really easy to find 20% off coupons for Michaels as well so you can save even more). Then my husband and I set to work sanding them down. They were fairly rough, so you'll want to spend some time sanding before staining to make sure you don't get splinters when taking things out of your new side table if you make your own. After sanding, I used an old rag to apply the stain. The stain recommends adding some kind of sealant on top of this, but I haven't yet gotten around to doing that. At some point, we may also add legs to the tables, but for now I'm going to count these as DONE!  I'm happy with them and my husband is VERY happy that my collage supplies are tucked away in their new home and not covering all of the available surfaces in our small apartment.

Do you have a list of 18 in 2018? Are any of them to make something for your home? Let me know in the comments!

Follow

Back Story

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

I'm Heidi, the creator and owner of Desert 2 District Design. I moved to D.C. in 2015 after spending most of my life in Arizona. I absolutely love D.C., but found myself a little homesick and missing some of my favorite desert plants (cacti, of course), the endless sunshine, and the laid-back vibes of the Southwest, so I started painting as a way to unwind and to bring some of the desert to my new home. It's been almost a year since I started my Instagram account, and I've been so surprised and grateful to find this beautiful and supportive community of artists and art lovers. 

If you know me from Instagram, you probably know that I love to paint (mostly watercolor), letter, bullet journal, and collage. I'm hoping to share more of my art here, but to also share more of myself--my love of travel, reading, cooking delicious vegan food, and yoga. 

I hope you'll follow along and say hi!

Follow