Category: DIY Furniture

Posted on by

Need Furniture Legs? How About Mid-Century Metal Legs?

As our customers know, we’re big proponents of the ‘builder culture’ which is making a comeback these days with those looking for custom furniture, locally made goods and a higher level of quality. But what happens when you find a table design you like and turn to the search engines for help? You’ll find a huge number of options for metal table legs, rough cut or finished wood and plans to choose from. Today we thought we’d address the range of options you’ll find if you start looking for ‘metal table legs’.

We took a quick survey of the results which show up when you search for ‘metal legs’ or ‘metal table legs’, and we turned up everything from our own hairpin and tube steel legs, to gold plated metal legs, which sell for $2,000 a piece! And if you’re thinking those legs must have come from an exclusive boutique, think again. They’re being sold through a very recognizable home improvement store with locations all over the country.

Most of the metal legs we found were priced between $25 and $50, which means building your own table might be a bit more expensive than some folks were planning on. If you’re thinking of building your own table and you’re just looking for a clean, understated metal table leg…we’d like to suggest mid-century modern table legs. Almost all of our legs are priced below $20 a piece and they are all built from durable steel right here in the USA. So if you’re building your own table and need some legs that won’t break the budget, consider our mid-century modern legs. If you have questions about an upcoming project, get in touch.

Posted on by

Carob Wood Table with Hairpin Coffee Table Legs

carob tree coffee table with hairpin legs

Every time it seems like we’ve seen hairpin coffee table legs added to every type of table top, one of our clients wows us with a totally new design, or a totally new type of wood. Ray on the west coast sent us this picture of his new coffee table with hairpin legs, and we’re glad he let us know what the wood is, because it’s like nothing we’ve seen before. He told us this is a section of a 50 year old carob tree, which they needed to remove from the property. For those not familiar with the tree, carob is a middle eastern evergreen tree, which can be grown in similar climate, and is most often grown for its fruit. It produces long bean pods, and the beans can be ground up and turned into a confection similar to chocolate.

carob-tree-floiage-and-fruit-illustration

Anyway, Ray loves the hairpin coffee table legs we sent him, and we’re glad he sent us a photo back, because this circular live edge table  is absolutely gorgeous and certainly one of a kind. It just goes to show that even when you’re just doing some tree work or landscaping, maybe something beautiful like this table can come out of it!

Posted on by

What Size Metal Bench Legs Should You Order?

Many of the questions we receive through the site are questions about what dimensions they should request when they order some custom metal bench legs. Often times, the inspiration for building a custom piece of furniture comes from seeing a piece at a friend’s house or a business like a cafe or outdoor restaurant. If you think of it…go ahead and take the measurements of the bench that is inspiring you to build one. If anyone is curious what you’re up to, you can let them know you’re looking for the perfect fit for your home…and you really love their bench. Everyone likes a compliment.

If you don’t have a bench to measure, have a look at the specifications of your favorite chair or couch. The height of most chairs and couches is between 15 and 18 inches. Our flat bar metal bench legs don’t add much in the way of height, only 1/2 an inch…so if you want a bench with a seat that is 18 inches tall, measure the wood you have, add a half inch for the metal bench supports and then you’ll know what height you need the legs to be. We recommend ordering legs that will remain an inch or two inside the edge of the bench, so measure the length of your bench surface front to back, subtract two (or four) inches, and that will be your length. Our flat bar metal comes in a standard 2 1/2 inch width…but you won’t have to worry about stability, these bench legs are very stable.

So, now you have your length, width and height formulas, so choose a piece of wood like our customer from the featured image above did, order some custom metal bench legs and create a totally unique DIY bench for your home or business!

Posted on by

Make a Live Edge Coffee Table with Hairpin Legs

With the rise of Ikea and other large furniture outlets which bring affordable furniture to most markets, we’ve noticed a growing homogeneity in furniture. One easy way to break out of the big-box furniture mold is to build a piece of ‘live edge’ furniture, like a live edge coffee table.

What is ‘live edge’ furniture? Simply stated, it’s furniture which isn’t cut to conform to an artificial shape…it retains the natural shape that the tree cultivated in the wild. Here in Colorado, we have numerous wood types available to us, but we see lots of amazing designs made out of high altitude pine trees, which grow in amazing shapes and sizes.

bristlecone pine tree bristlecone pine tree

Selecting your own piece of live edge wood from the wild would certainly guarantee a unique coffee table, but most people probably don’t have time to find the wood and obtain the proper permits. Instead, check in with your local lumber yard or tree maintenance company and find out what kind of rough cut wood is available. Even if you don’t live in a heavily wooded part of the country, there is always tree work being done and the species growing all around you can be turned into a wonderful live edge table or bench. Once you select the right piece of wood, you can sand, seal or stain the wood to your liking and order some legs to finish it off. We like the simple elegance of hairpin legs on a live edge coffee table or bench, although you can use angle iron legs or bench legs as well. Here are a few examples of live edge coffee tables made with our hairpin legs:

raw wood coffee table with hairpin legs raw wood coffee table with footed hairpin legs Once you have legs attached to your one-of-a-kind tabletop or bench, send us a photo! We love seeing the amazing designs our customers come up with…especially when they are made from wood that retains some of it’s natural beauty and contour.

Posted on by

Butcher Block Tables with Hairpin Legs

One furniture style that is a versatile modern furniture comeback, and is unique in every instance is the butcher block. Butcher block tables used to be made from a solid piece of wood, and they were used in commercial and residential kitchens for food preparation. More recently, in the interest of keeping costs down, butcher blocks are often made from strips of wood pressed together to create the block, instead of using large center-cut pieces of wood. Far from being unattractive, woodworkers use this process to create amazing patterns and incredibly beautiful pieces of furniture…most of which will never be used in the kitchen. We like the simple look of a butcher block finished with hairpin legs, but they can just as easily be built with flat bar legs, or tube steel bench supports.

composite-butcher-block-table-with-hairpin-legs butcher-block-table-with-hairpin-legs butcher-block-end-table-with-hairpin-legs

One of the ways woodworkers and DIY furniture makers have used the butcher block to great success is the butcher block coffee table, or the butcher block end table. There are classic styles, striped butcher block tables, and even these butcher block style tables from Wood Shed Production, which are a revival of classic butcher block styles (albeit with updated table legs). Some of these tables are made from single sections of wood, like turn of the century butcher block tables, and some of them are made from composite wood styles, like we expect to see in modern butcher block tables. Thanks to the good folks at Wood Shed Production for allowing us to show off their amazing workmanship alongside our hairpin legs, and hopefully this will inspire your next furniture project…whether it’s a butcher block or not!

Posted on by

Coffee Table with Creative Table Legs

How can you create a unique coffee table that perfectly suits your living room? How about starting with one of our creative hairpin leg styles and building your coffee table from the ground up? We received an email from Sean showing off his amazing round coffee table made with our ‘Just the Tip’ hairpin legs, which we like to describe as ‘hairpin legs with feet’.

Sean’s new table reminds us of a shield, or a crest and we can honestly say he’s created a piece of furniture unlike anything our customers have sent in before. We’re happy our creative table legs helped Sean get his project completed, and here is what Sean had to say about it:

My friends love our new table and I’m passing out your website to everyone that asks.

Thanks again!

Sean

If you are thinking of building your own furniture, or updating a table or chair with a stripped-down modern look, take a look at the creative leg styles we’ve come up with, and you might just find the perfect hardware to get you started. As always, when you finish, send us a photo…we love showing off the amazing DIY furniture our customers come up with!
Posted on by

How to Make a Coffee Table

Coffee tables come in all shapes and styles, but for many houses and apartments they are the focal point of the living room, so folks want to own a coffee table that fits their tastes and decor. At Modern Legs we like simple lines and classic building materials like wood, steel and wrought iron. Today we thought we’d give a few simple suggestions for how to make a coffee table.

ziricote wood grain swiss pear wood grain paduk wood grain

If you’re going after a classic wood coffee table, affordable and unique wood choices can depend a little on where you are. On the east coast customers have started with classic eastern hardwoods like oak, maple or walnut. Here in Colorado we have easy access to locust, catalpa and orchard varieties like apple, cherry and pear. On the west coast there are beautiful evergreen varieties like redwood, sequoia and several species of fir. Great cuts of wood can be found at lumber yards, from tree maintenance companies and in reclaimed wood yards from building renovations. Search for ‘reclaimed wood’ or ‘rough cut lumber’ to find sources for unique wood in your area.

When it comes to preparing the wood, you can sand, stain or clear coat your wood…it all depends on your color and protection preferences. We prefer showing off the wood by sanding and using a clear varnish, but it’s up to you. Once you have the wood selected and prepared, it’s time to choose legs. We love the simplicity of the classic hairpin leg, but some customers opt for tube steel or flat bar legs for a seamless design. We always suggest thinking about what height you want your table early in the process. If you’re replacing a table, measure the height of that table if you like that height, and are upgrading the quality of the table.

4 DSC_0064

When you have your legs picked out, place an order and the process is almost done. Affix your legs to the table with wood screws and you’re done! We’ve heard from customers all over the country who have put together a one-of-a-kind table for $100 or less! Not only did they save some money, but they own a truly unique coffee table that they built. Now that you have some tips on how to make a coffee table…get out there and get creating!

Posted on by

Vintage Wood Benches with Steel Bench Legs

We may be in the modern bench leg business, but we know a beautiful piece of wood when we see one, and boy did Michael from Wood Shed Production choose some amazing wood to make benches from. He sent us some photos of these new benches made with flat bar bench legs.

antique-beam-bench-with-bench-supports dark-beam-bench-with-steel-bench-legs

First, they take reclaimed and vintage wood from all over the US and design custom furniture based on their customers’ specifications. Some of the lumber comes from homes or barns, like these two sections of beam, and sometimes the wood is harvested as a byproduct of the timber trade. Wood that is cut by the timber trade is often oddly shaped, or not considered a commercial wood types, and would be are discarded. The folks at Wood Shed Production know there is still plenty of potential in this lumber, so they take the time to cut, craft and finish pieces like these benches, and we’re proud that they chose us to make the bench legs! If you are interested in unique handcrafted furniture, have a look around our blog and get inspired. You can create wonderful furniture with a set of bench legs and some amazing lumber.

Posted on by

DIY Furniture Project – Redwood Coffee Table

We’re big supporters of the DIY furniture movement, and we believe that anyone with some basic tools and an idea can build a beautiful piece of furniture for the home or as a gift. However, there might be something even more inspiring than building a new piece of DIY furniture. How about resurrecting an old piece of furniture? We sold a set of hairpin legs to Mary, and when she finished up her home furniture restoration project, she sent us a photo. Here is Mary’s “new” coffee table, and the quote she sent along with it.

“We were given a handmade redwood table with very thick wood stump legs. After sanding down the black varnish on the top and replacing the stumps with hairpin legs, we now love our one of a kind table. Thank you for having the legs to make this transformation possible.”

Mary

After all, anyone can order a coffee table online or pick one out at a furniture warehouse, but now Mary and her family can enjoy their new coffee table and let everyone who compliments it know they made that table! We’re glad our hairpin legs could help complete her DIY furniture project, and thanks to Mary for sending us a photo of the finished product.

 

Posted on by

Julie’s Live Edge Desk with Flat Bar Desk Supports

We just received a note from Julie thanking us for sending her a set of custom flat bar desk supports. She added them to a beautiful plank of wood which uses the live edge as part of the cut. We think Julie did a great job with her DIY desk using our custom supports and we love hearing from our customers and seeing what they make using our supports and legs. If you have a project you’ve just finished, send us a photo!

live edge wood desk with custom steel desk supports