Tomato Cage Tables
Sometimes I get the itch to try a project just for the heck of it. Even if I think it will fail, or look horrid, or be a total time-suck…I just want to give it a shot. These tables are one of those projects.
I’ve been wanting to bring some gold into the house somehow, and I figured guest room bedside tables would be a great way to do that. The first thing that popped into my head was a gold wire table, mostly because I’ve seen them all over the internet (Pinterest) and they are stuck in my head. I could never get away with putting them in the main part of my house (every time I mention gold Adam stops me mid sentence and says “No gold! Veto”), but in a funky southwestern bedroom that he never enters? I’m doing it.
There is quite a bit of inspiration out there, here are a few pieces that I found…
My first stop was Amazon (of course), and I quickly found a table that would work perfectly.
Overstock had more affordable options, these Safavieh tables were all between $100 and $200 each.
Then I took to Pinterest and discovered all the tables I had been seeing were from Target.
They were all about $50-$100….but everything was out of stock/discontinued. Evidently I’m really behind on this gold table trend.
So I decided to experiment and make some out of stuff I had lying around the house. And what I had was tomato cages, wire, spray paint, and lots of scrap wood. Challenge accepted.
First I cut off the long prongs.
Then I started to add wire, first stringing it vertically….
…and then weaving it in horizontally.
The result? It looked like a kindergartener made it. The wires weren’t straight and it reminded me of when my four-year old writes his name. Of course his squiggly little name is the best thing ever, so maybe this could be considered cute and whimsical as well. I should probably paint it and see.
Paint and primer helped…a ton. Could this actually work? I guess the only way to see would be to make tops and see if they are sturdy.
Using scrap pecan, a kreg jig, a jigsaw, an sandpaper my husband made some circular tops. (Home Depot sells pre-made ones for less than $5, but the goal here was to spend zero dollars).
I rubbed them down with some Minwax 78500 Regular Finishing Wax, 1-Pound
Done!
Now, let’s be honest… these aren’t the best looking tables. It kinda looks like Spiderman played a role in their creation. But they’re not terrible either, considering. I’d call them a semi-success. The tables are fairly sturdy…they have a little jiggle to them but they’re not gong to fall over or collapse under the weight of normal bedside table stuff. I’m going to leave them for now, but if I find a legit gold wire ones on clearance I’ll pick them up. Or maybe a wire laundry hamper turned upside down with the current tops attached. That would work great, actually.
Anyway, there you have it…my completely free tomato cage table experiment. I can’t very well end this post without mentioning the wall. It’s amazing right? I freaking love it and am hoping to have it finished by Thanksgiving!
