Woman Turns IKEA Metal Serving Bowls Into An Elegant Coffee Table On A Budget
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Do you desperately need a coffee table but can't find one you like at an affordable price? The must-have landing spots for yesterday's mail and today's cup of coffee can be surprisingly expensive, which may be why one crafty TikToker decided to seek out a better solution at IKEA. Instead of hitting up the furniture section, creator frejodesign transformed several BLANDA BLANK serving bowls into the base of an elegant coffee table that looks extremely high-end. To make it, she created three stainless steel spherical "legs", connecting two bowls together at the rims with heavy-duty adhesive to make each sphere. After prepping the look of the legs with mesh drywall tape and joint compound, she topped them off with a triangular glass tabletop.
While you can technically find coffee tables starting around $30 at IKEA and elsewhere, they often look cheap, not chic. This DIY is ideal if you're willing to ditch the particleboard style for something more modern. Although IKEA's stainless steel bowls come in several sizes, opt for 14-inch ones ($20 each). The typical coffee table height lands between 16 to 18 inches, but since the bowls only measure 6 inches high, this DIY will be lower to the ground (unless you stack additional bowls). You'll also need a glass tabletop, which you can thrift or buy new, to fit your space.
Expect to spend around $20 for the tape and pre-mixed compound, available at most home improvement stores. While you're there, grab a heavy-duty adhesive appropriate for gluing metal to metal. Products like epoxy or E6000 Adhesive should effectively bond the bowls. A palette knife, sponge, and fine-grit sandpaper round out the supplies to transform a few simple IKEA kitchenware items into a coffee table that will instantly upgrade your home.
Customize your IKEA-bowl coffee table with texture and color
This is a perfect coffee table project if you're DIY shy, because the construction process is extremely simple even for beginners. After applying a thin line of adhesive to the rim of one IKEA bowl, align the rim of another bowl over it and press it in place to create a sphere. Consider wrapping a little masking tape around the bowls to temporarily hold them together, since high-strength adhesives like E6000 may need anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to cure. You'll further strengthen this bond by wrapping mesh drywall tape around the entire seam. Then, using a palette knife and slightly-dampened sponge, cover the ball with a generous layer of joint compound.
@frejodesign DIY coffee table made with the IKEA BLANDA BLANK serving bowls & a thrifted glass top 💫 This is still my favorite DIY I've ever made. ikeahack coffeetable diyhomeprojects eclecticdecor
From there, you've got a few customization options. For a sleek look, use fine-grit sandpaper to smooth out the joint compound. To achieve an earthier look, apply a second coat of joint compound with variations in thickness to create texture. The TikToker behind this design left hers natural, but if the slightly off-white color doesn't appeal to you, consider painting over the drywall compound. Just remember to apply a coat of primer first!
The final step is situating your glass tabletop into place. Although you could drill holes into your stainless bowls and use specialty standoff hardware to secure your glass tabletop to the base, you can also try securing adapters, such as uxcell Glass Top Adapters, between the metal bowl and glass table with strong clear-setting epoxy. Alternatively, simple silicone bumpers are a cheaper and easier non-permanent solution to hold the top in place. Once your glass tabletop is in place, use small decorative accents to style your coffee table and complete a sophisticated aesthetic.