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Making A Steel And Marble Dining Table

‘Til now I’ve been fairly proud of my self-taught woodworking skills. But I have to admit that this makes me realize how much I still have to learn about construction. Why? Because Amanda and her husband Ben said “Forget wood, we’re building with steel!” Um, gulp. Check out how their weld-it-yourself (WIY?) table helped transform their dining area.

We recently made some changes to our dining room (like adding trim and painting plus replacing the old light fixture) and I wanted to share the new dining table we built. Here’s the room we started with:

Steel Before

For the table, we discussed building a wooden one and painting it white. But how would we make it sturdy enough? Then Ben had a great idea. Why not build the table out of steel? It’s cheap, durable and rigid. Ben went to the local steel supply warehouse and found three-inch square steel tubing for the legs and three-inch ‘L’ pieces for the rails for a total of just $58. And the supply yard cut the pieces to length for us too.

Crate Welding

At our local granite and marble yard we found a remnant piece of dark greenish-black marble with white swirls. Ben helped cut the slab at the granite supply shop but polished the edges at home using granite specific polishing pads on a right angle grinder.

Steel Granite

You can learn more about the process right here on our blog: Our Humble A{Bow}d. We’re 150% in love with our new table, especially how the clean and modern parsons style legs pair with the more traditional marble top.

Steel After Full

Steel After Pair

You can see more after pics on our blog too. Thanks for the inspiration & hard work! – Amanda

Wow. To borrow from the name of their blog, we’re totally humbled by Amanda and Ben’s amazing handiwork. I might have to go add some welding tools to my wish list. Aren’t you guys just amazed that they took on this sort of project by themselves and it came out looking so professional? Is anyone else out there as inspired to weld something? Who’s going to tackle some DIY WIY soon?

Comments

  4. Elyse says

    Wow that’s amazing… I am definitely impressed, but not sure we’re ready to tackle a project like that.
    and what a coincidence that you showcased them today as I JUST discovered their blog this morning. I also love their DIY entertainment center in their living room.

    Reply

  5. Jen says

    The table is SO great, and so is the rest of their home! I love reading Amanda’s blog, and drooling over all the moldings that they have installed throughout their entire home, all DIY!!

    Reply

  7. Alex says

    I’m going to be honest, upon first reading that this was gong to be a steel table I was not amused! I don’t like ultra modern furniture, and that’s what I assumed this was going to be. To my surprise, I LOVE what they did!!!! What a charming table that will survive the years.

    Reply

  8. Chisty says

    I love it! This is right up our alley! My husband welded 2 super modern bookshelves for our bedroom that I should show you guys. He’s done everything from tables and backsplashes to a trailer for my son’s tricycle and truck. What I love most about his awesome projects is that he doesn’t spend a dime! He snags up scrap metal whenever he can for free. When we find we want something, his gears start turning and if it’s at all possible, he’ll weld it! You should definitelly explore the world of welding!

    Thanks for new post ideas for my blog! I need to start showcasing the hubby’s projects! :-)

    Reply

  16. Elizabeth says

    Great job! And I’m totally envious that you have enough room in your garage to do work like that…I really need to clean mine out.

    Reply

  18. Rachael @ Mrs-Adventure says

    WOW seeing this sure inspired my “thinker” you see hubs knows how to weld so I am sure I can talk him into a project or too. Ok maybe this winter since I’m sure no one wants to be welding in this humid Texas heat!

    Reply

  20. Laura says

    The table is great, but I’m actually totally floored by the panelling! I want to copy that somewhere, it’s beautiful!

    Reply

  22. Karen V. says

    Looks great! I took and artistic welding class last fall and have been hooked ever since! I just bought myself a welder this summer and am looking forward to creating many more masterpieces – after the temperatures mellow out some. So far, I’ve welded up a super cool bench that doubles as a railing for our mudroom, planter boxes, and a bunch of yard art out of waste metal:)

    Reply

  28. Bryanna S says

    to be honest, I don’t understand the ‘but how would we make it sturdy enough?’ comment considering wood is plenty sturdy unless they had planned on the heavy granite prior to the steel (it doesn’t say so on this entry) but it is still a very very lovely table. I quite like it a lot. It definitely works and I wouldn’t mind having one :D

    Reply

  29. Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says

    Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support! It’s so crazy! Bryanna S, we did plan to have a granite or marble stone top when we originally planned to build a table. Ben didn’t feel comfortable making a wooden base for something that is free standing and not built in, like the countertops he has done in the past.

    Reply

  33. Cate says

    Honestly, I appreciate your efforts at redesigning this space, but I don’t understand that heavy looking wall with all the white. It really closes up the room and makes it look too sterile and small. Is that a built-in of cabinets, or just paneling? I always advise my clients to cut down paneling like that to half the size so that the wall color can warm things up and art add nice pops of additional color for balance and interest. What if you changed the lighting fixture and removed the ceramic dishes on top of the paneling? That would infuse some wonderful variation in color and warmth into your otherwise charming space.

    Reply

  36. Allison says

    To the people who didn’t know you could paint steel: It’s a fair guess that 99% of the steel that we all encounter everyday of our lives is painted steel. How about household appliances like washing machines and the fridge? Or your car? Steel is even more paintable than wood. In fact, wood doesn’t even have to be painted. Steel MUST be painted to prevent rusting. While it’s good to have paint that is made for metal, it’s not necessary as long as it’s primed.

    Reply

  39. Traci says

    I love it! and the fact that it was WIY…I have wanted a brickmakers coffee table for sometime and can’t see spending the money they want for them…and I want a custom size…so glad you posted this because I was wondering if anyone has attempted welding themselves…seems it is so :) I’m not sure I can tackle it, but it’s great to know there is a slight possiblity. Great Job!

    Reply

  41. Claire says

    What a great transformation and how resourceful to build their own table!

    Is having your own blog a requirement to be featured in the Reader Redesign section? It seems that every RR that has been featured in these parts lately has a blog attached to it.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Claire,

      You’re right, so many of our Reader Redesign applicants do have blogs these days! It’s definitely not a requirement, but maybe bloggers are more motivated to take photos and document their work since they’re writing about it for all to see? And then once it’s all done they figure it might be fun to send everything our way?

      xo,
      s

  43. Lindsay says

    would you be willing to give me a ballpark for your total cost of the table? I have been looking for a solid granite table and have been thinking of making my own. I love yours!!

    Reply

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