So excited to be sharing this fun post with y’all. It was inspired by some wood scraps…literally. So, what does anyone do when they have old wood scraps? Me? I decided on some Old World charm risers (DIY).
See I had been wanting some risers for vignette displays, centerpieces, and for the sheer fact of adding dimension to said displays.
I’ll share how these came about.
Old World Charm Risers (DIY)
If you’re a faithful reader/follower, you know that I like to re-purpose things. Before I toss anything out or I’m done using something, I always try to envision it in a different roll. Can it be reused in a totally different capacity?
Plain and simple… I don’t like throwing things out. (And probably the one thing my husbands dislikes more about me than anything!).
This table is kinda like an organ donor. So many parts of it have become useful in a new life/role and I love that.
Boo and I got married in ’81, we didn’t have much as far as furniture for our apartment. A neighborhood friend of his and his boss at the time gave us a few pieces. One of which was this old table.
Table (repurposed in several ways)
It served us well for many years. Over time, one of the legs had split and the table was pretty flimsy. I decided to take it apart, paint and use the table top anchored on an old milk can, (shown in photo above).
Saving all the other pieces of course, cause I just knew I would reuse them for other projects.
The mid section piece eventually became a plaque. I repainted it and put a quote on it. It hangs in our master bedroom.
What was left, but the legs. That’s where this project came from.
Legs (the inspiration)
There was too much cuteness and character in those legs, I just couldn’t toss them. I mean look at ’em?
After a few trims, I immediately thought of making some risers to repurpose the cute legs. Risers are everywhere. They’re adorable and very functional as well as fun to use for decorating!
Heading to the barn to score some other wood pieces that would work, I was successful in my search.
I found some 1″ thick wood pieces in our stash and cut two different sizes. (10″ x 14″ piece and another piece was cut to 9″ x 9″.)
I roughed up the wood with a meat cleaver.
Putting some nice dings and grooves to add character.
Followed by sanding, painting, more sanding to expose some of the base.
Now it was time to work with the feet…
Hobby Lobby had some wooden candle cups that would work for the other riser. After I had trimmed off the size I needed from the table legs, there was light sanding before drilling them in place.
Each little leg got a bit of glue prior to screwing/pegging in place!
On to staining, applying a smear of vaseline here and there prior to painting white.
(*Vaseline method helps to expose the stain and the final paint does not adhere to the areas where vaseline was applied.)
Supplies/Tools Used:
- table legs
- candle cup holders
- 1 1/2″ wood screws
- vaseline
- chalk paint
- antique medium
- wood stain
- sander
- drill (7/64″ drill bit)
- wood pegs
- 2 wood pieces for riser tops
- E6000 glue (or any wood glue)
Finishing off with some antique medium rubbed on the edges and done!
Another fun project that cost me $3.00 (candle cup pieces). All other materials were recycled.
I have two adorable risers that I’ve used multiple times now- and I love them!
As for the rest of the legs…well, that’s another future project! ❤︎
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