How We Made A Table From An Old Door + My Favorite Dining Tables to Buy

Why would we turn a old door into a table? Why didn’t we just buy a new table? Well my friends, there are many answers. This old door was being thrown out and replaced by a much newer door, because as you can see in the picture below, it was a bit chippy. But for us, it still had potential. What we saw was a solid 8 foot, white oak door that makes for the perfect tabletop and another place to save money.

Sounds too complicated?

Nah. You just gotta know what you’re doing. Watch the video below for an overview of how we made a table from an old door and read below for more details!

Plus, my favorite indoor and outdoor tables are added to this post, because I totally agree that sometimes you can’t DIY everything!

PRESS PLAY:

https://honestlydesignedinteriors.com/wp-content/uploads/Video-Oct-03-12-38-21-AM.mov

1. Trimming

using a track saw, we trimmed the sides, top and bottom to get rid of all the holes where the old door accessories used to be
because the door is thick, the saw didn’t cut all the way through–we had to literally flip the door so that Leo could finish the cut with the tract saw
because the door is like super heavy, we didn’t want to keep flipping the table so Leo used a chisel and a mallet to finish taking off the piece on the other side (see video)

2. Making Table Legs

these table legs were welded together by Leo’s dad from leftover scrap metal that he had (since he made them, this isn’t exactly a tutorial for how to make table legs)
the legs were welded at a height where the table was going to be at average height, however it turned out to be too tall for the end chairs that I ordered for it
because of that, the legs needed to be trimmed down by 2 inches so that we can keep the end chairs and still sit comfortably on the benches
Leo bonded and sanded over where the metal was welded together for a more smooth finish
since I wasn’t planning on painting the bottom of the table, we went ahead and sprayed the table legs with a white spray paint before screwing on the tabletop

3. Attaching the Tabletop to Table Legs

once the legs were 100% done, we screwed the tabletop to attach to the table legs by first drilling holes into the metal, then attaching with 2 inch screws

4. Adding Final Details and Sanding

when I say add final details, I mean filling the big gap where the old metal handle was and adding trim all around the table
by filling the area where the metal handle was, we used a piece of cedar that was very carefully cut thin, ran through a planner, and glued on
we also secured that cedar piece with the tiniest of nails just to be on the safe side
using a belt sander, we sanded the cedar piece down so that it would be as smooth and level as possible with the rest of the table
for the trim pieces on the side, we also used cedar, cut thin (we were going to paint the table so the wood matching didn’t matter) and attached with using a nail gun

5. Painting and Fixing Strokes

you might’ve noticed that in the picture above, the table already looked painted–well it was, halfway though (I was trying to make things go faster)
we used a milk paint color called Parchment from The Real Milk Paint Co. to paint our tabletop (and benches) because I wanted a natural option since it is a tabletop where we eat
although the paint dried with some visible dry powder (not sure if it’s because we didn’t mix it well enough), I loved painting with the milk paint–after lightly sanding the dry powder residue and the brush strokes off, the table turned out a beautiful, white rustic color
I never bothered to seal it since the table is still underneath a roof and out of direct sunlight–plus, it’s easier to sand off anything that stains (I might decide to seal later)

If you want to know more about milk paint, look out for a blog post about the pros and cons of milk paint!

So yes, saving a door to turn it into a table isn’t all that complicated and does save you money from buying a GOOD and NEW one! Not everyday though, does someone throw out an awesome solid door but if you’ve ever wanted to do something like this, it’s totally possible (and I don’t mean the rustic farmhouse way that Pinterest blows up with when you type in dining table lol). Our table legs were made by my father in law from scrap metal he had but if welding isn’t your thing, there are many options that you can purchase OR make out of another material. If you’re wondering how much money we spent on the table, I estimated it to be UNDER $200. And the paint was the most expensive thing at $60 for a gallon. We never epoxied the table to fill the cracks like I mentioned I would. We decided that I can just easily wipe the food away. We never used epoxy and truth be told, didn’t want to ruin this beauty of a door turned table. I’m happy with the way it turned out. WE are happy with the way it turned out. Check out this post here to see how this back area used to look and what changes were made to it!