Demilune (Half Moon) Madness...

Last week, my friends were blaming all kinds of things on the full moon.  While they ran around howling (yes, some most of my friends really are like that), I got an irresistible urge to rearrange furniture, and decided this table had to either be redesigned, or move to the basement laundry room.

This little Queen Anne table has been charming in the dining room, but she's a bit small for the room, not to mention dinner with more than a few guests.    Note to those who notice such things: I did not drip paint on the hardwood floors.  A previous owner refinished only the edges that showed around the area rug, then later, planning to install wall-to-wall carpet, didn't bother with drop cloths.  Refinishing them is on the endless list of things to do, though not very fun, so not very high up on the list.  :)

Years ago, when I moved from a tiny 1920's bungalow in Minneapolis, down to this big post-Victorian in Belle Plaine, I left much of my furniture for the young couple that bought my house.  I had visions of finding the perfect antique furnishings at estate sales, after the move, but several months, one electrician and a plumber later, I was out of furniture budget.  Thus, this little alley find (even smaller than the alley find I left behind) got a "quick" paint job, and stood in for several years as the temporary dining table. It also traveled to art shows as a display piece, and survived the scariest storm I've ever been caught in...Minwax Polycrylic, you rock, and hail and water roll right off of you!

My new larger table holds ten people for dinner, four friends working on art projects, or this week's woodworking project, as needed.

About a year or so ago, I picked up a larger Jacobean Revival style table off of craigslist, and this little one got shoved into a corner, where it fit, technically, but always looked awkward. I had an idea for making it work, and now that I'm fully embracing the conversion of the dining room (which is next to my studio) to full-time art space, I finally took the time (all of thirty minutes), to try it out.

Not all experiments work, so it's not a bad idea to snap a photo of the hardware before dis-assembling, just in case it turns out not to have been such a hot idea, after all.

 I think it works nicely...



I took the extension mechanism off of the bottom, and screwed some salvaged staircase spindles to the skirt.  I think I'll keep an eye out for back legs that better match the style of the table, but these will do until I find them.  I love the way this creates a perfect desk to hold art journals that I work on most weeks.

   and here's the other half...


The second half will make a nice spot to eat breakfast, when every other table in the house is covered in projects, which is most of the time.

Okay, truth:  It's the same half, for the sake of snapping a photo, and writing this post.  I couldn't put the back legs on the second half because the charger for my cordless drill died, so I borrowed the neighbor's cordless drill, but his battery died, too.  Sigh.  Blame it on the moon.

When I'm not chopping up perfectly good furniture to turn it into something else, I paint perfectly good walls.  You can view my portfolio of ideas, learn more about my services, and get the information on how to hire me at theartofthehome.com. 

Trying a D-I-Y project like this table conversion?  Yay, you!  If you have questions you think I might be able to answer, please know you are welcome to email me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.  I'm delighted to share whatever I know.  You can also ask questions or leave a comment by clicking that word, just under this post.