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Can You Guess the Wood in Robert’s Hairpin Leg Table?

We were amazed at the green hues in this amazing wood. Robert made this console table from a living edge slab of rare wood. Any guesses what it is? Many of us have eaten the nuts from this tree but not many have seen the wood in person. It’s pistachio! That makes the green coloring a little more explainable, but not all pistachio wood is this colored. This is a truly amazing specimen.

exotic console table with twist hairpin table legs

Live edge wood is always unique but even more so in this case. Not many folks have seen pistachio wood or even a pistachio tree so keeping the live edges really tells the story of this wood. It is fun to picture the size of the tree it must have come from. The dark coloring of remaining bark perfectly blends into the Twist hairpin legs. Choosing the style of hairpin legs can really change the overall image of the table. The taller height required of console tables necessitates a tall set of hairpin legs. This additional height allows for the metal legs to really show what they’re made of and be an artistic part of the furniture. We think the dark set of Twist hairpin legs is perfect on this table. We’re glad Robert is happy with them too:

Your outstanding legs compliment an equally outstanding piece of pistachio. Thank you so much for your creative and solid craftsmanship and outstanding service.

Thanks for sharing, Robert. We’re glad you had the opportunity to work with this amazing live edge slab wood. Excellent finished product!

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Todd’s Hairpin Leg Table and Metal Leg Bench

In part one of our feature on Todd’s live edge furniture, we talked about styles of hairpin table legs. Today we wanted to share how Todd used hairpin legs and metal bench legs to make a matching (but not identical) set of DIY furniture.

side table with hairpin table legs entryway bench with metal bench legs

Though there are many similarities between the pieces its striking how different the two pieces look simply by choosing different metal leg styles. Both hairpin legs and the bench legs are beautiful, functional, and durable. But they have totally different looks. The solid construction of the flat bar bench legs imparts a solid and sturdy look to the bench as a whole. The hairpin legs are just as durable as the bench legs, but we find that their thin construction doesn’t draw the eye to the legs much, meaning the tabletop is the star of the piece. What a perfect use on a small bench by the front door. The natural shape of the live edge slab looks perfect against the stone siding on this house. All in all, an excellent addition to this home!

The choice of where to place furniture in the house can be a fun one! Some folks like similar hairpin leg furniture all in the same room. For example, we’ve seen matching end tables and a coffee table all in the living room. Hairpin leg furniture throughout the house is another great option. The metal leg furniture right outside the home will look great with the second piece inside the house. What a great way to distribute the natural look of wood throughout the house.

Thanks for sharing Todd!

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Todd’s Console Tables with Hairpin Table Legs

Todd made these amazing console tables, and although it probably wasn’t his intention, it’s a great example of how different hairpin table legs can change the look of a table. Both tables are made with live edge slab wood and hairpin table legs. The two hairpin leg styles Todd chose are the twist hairpin legs and the “Just the Tip” hairpin legs. Each style is a modern furniture leg made of solid steel rod, but the way these rods are shaped gives each it’s completely different look.

live edge console with footed hairpin table legs live edge console with twisted hairpin table legs

We’re often asked what differences there are between hairpin leg styles. Most obvious is the appearance. Different styles work best for different tabletops, areas of the house, and most importantly, preference. Preference is usually the deciding factor in your finished product. A few styles of metal legs offer additional weight support if that is a deciding factor in your project. Bench legs, 3 rod hairpin legs, and Just the Tip hairpin legs offer the most weight support. The Just the Tip hairpin legs seems more stable in appearance and hints at the claw foot style some of us grew up with. Though the twist hairpin leg can hold up a fair amount of weight itself, it gives a lighter more playful look to the table.

Think about what you want your final product to look like and that will help give you an idea as to what the best style of hairpin table legs will be for your project. Now you have some side-by-side images illustrate their differences. For some folks it is helpful to get an idea of how the final project will look before deciding on a hairpin leg style. When you’re finished, send us a picture of what you came up with, we’d love to see!

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Jane and Sonja’s Console Table with Hairpin Table Legs

Reclaiming old materials and turning them into unique hairpin leg furniture is a rewarding experience, but sometimes those amazing reclaimed wood pieces we see on Pinterest can seem a little out of reach. If you’ve never used reclaimed wood, you may have some questions like, How much should it be refinished? Should the wood be left in its current state or altered? Should it be completely refurbished? Should it be somewhere in between? The answers ultimately may be different for each of us.

Sometimes the process others take can help you figure out the answers that will work for you. Looking at the path the wood takes from raw material to finished product gives a great visual for how far you want to rework your reclaimed wood; and it can show you exactly what a tired barn board can turn into with a little bit of elbow grease!

reclaimed wood table with hairpin table legsJane and Sonja are sisters and the minds behind Sustain My Craft Habit. They certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to reclaimed wood furniture, and here is an example; a beautiful console table made with hairpin table legs. They walk you through the steps they took and give a great visual journey of what they did to turn tired lumber into a beautiful piece of DIY furniture. Their finished table maintains the aged look of the original material while giving it a new finished look at the same time. Hairpin table legs perfectly compliment the wood. The dark steel of the hairpin legs perfectly plays off the darker wood coloring. A big ‘thank you’ to Jane and Sonja for sharing the process that created this beautiful and functional hairpin leg table!

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Rachel’s Live Edge Furniture with Hairpin Bench Legs

Sometimes it can be easy to dream up a design, but hard to get started. If you’re thinking of a new piece of furniture in your home but you’re not yet sure how to make it, keep an eye out for authors and DIY’ers like Rachel. She very clearly documents furniture building and crafting–as well as how she built this table–on her blog, DIY in PDX.

Rachel starts off by showing us the wood she selected and the bench legs she’s going to use; in this case hairpin legs. Once the piece is completed, she shows us some great ideas of how to use the piece now that its completed. In another example of how the process is different for all of us, Rachel keeps her options open for exactly what type of hairpin leg furniture this really is. After making what she intended to be a bench, she realizes the versatility of the completed furniture – it would also work perfectly as a coffee or side table.

Sometimes the adventure of making your own piece of furniture is just the beginning of the adventure. Deciding how and where to use it can be just as fun. And it doesn’t have to maintain the same use forever. Making such versatile furniture means it will conform to your needs and uses as they change over time.

That’s part of the magic of hairpin bench legs. They are great for all kinds of furniture. Our hairpin legs are available in heights ranging from 4 inches all the way up to 30 inches. The shorter legs are great for foot stools and ottomans as well as pre-made furniture like a bureau that needs shorter legs. The mid-sized legs are ideal for coffee tables, end tables, and benches like Rachel’s. Taller hairpin legs make perfect dining room tables, desks, and entryway or console-style tables. Of course the list is virtually endless. We’ve seen amazing furniture our customers have put together and look forward to what you have in mind!

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Reclaimed Wood & Inlay Table with Hairpin Furniture Legs

Metal and wood are the perfect companions. They are both a rugged raw material used all around us. There’s something about these age-old materials that bring us back to our roots by providing a simple sturdy structure in our lives. Wood is easy to work with and also pairs perfectly with our metal hairpin legs.

metal inlay hairpin leg table metal inlay table with hairpin furniture legs

Here’s a great idea to connect your reclaimed (or not) boards together – metal inlay. Metal inlay is an extremely functional design concept, which sturdily ties all of the wood together with banding. It is also very attractive. The metal on the top of the table nicely matches the metal of the hairpin legs tying the entire piece together. This table here is made with a black-finished metal that perfectly matches the hairpin legs. This could also be done with painted metal; both the metal of the inlay and the hairpin legs could be painted to match adding any color to the project.

This reclaimed wood table was made by the folks at Reclaimed Wood USA from reclaimed walnut. They certainly know how to make a beautiful hairpin leg table! They source their reclaimed wood from old barns resulting in a variety of wood types. What a stylish and responsible use of what would otherwise be waste material. The height of this table easily accommodates use as a sofa table, end table or entryway table. Our wide range of hairpin leg heights ensures you’ll be able to create any style of table that will fit perfectly for your home and your needs.

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Jenni’s Mesquite Hairpin Leg Nesting Tables

One of the best attributes of hairpin legs is the little space they take up. Having a steel rod holding up your table means it does a solid sturdy job with a minimum of space. Jenni has gone a step further in space minimization: nesting hairpin leg tables! The ability to order hairpin legs in a variety of sizes means you can make tables of different heights. And that can mean tables that actually nest, further minimizing space while maximizing usable furniture in your home.

Shorter tables can be used for coffee tables and end tables to shorter furniture. Taller tables can be used next to higher furniture or as standalone tables for many uses. Jenni made these nesting tables from mesquite slabs. She left the live edge in tact keeping the natural shape of the wood. The dark color of the hairpin legs nicely brings out the dark aspects of the wood. At the same time the straight sleekness of the metal legs nicely compliments the wilder irregularities of the wood. Nice choice Jenni!

If you don’t happen to live near Jenni’s modern home accent store Riveted Studio you can certainly make your own set of nesting tables. We offer hairpin legs from 4”-30” tall. Making two or three nesting tables is only as difficult as finding the right wood for the table tops. Having nesting tables is a nice way to expand horizontal surfaces in living spaces when company comes or you just need a little extra space when working on a home project.

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Chloe’s Salvaged Wood Bench with Hairpin Legs

Benches have many uses, and they are used to hold up more than just people. Adding a bench to your home can add fashion as well as function. You might use the bench to give your plants some sunlight like Chloe did; and when you have company over, the bench can be pulled out.

Chloe knows just as well as we do that hairpin legs are great for benches. She chose to use salvaged wood, which gave the bench a timeless feel, as if the piece has been around for years. Using hairpin legs meant she just had to screw them on firmly and she was done in no time at all. Read Chloe’s article on how the reclaimed wood bench came together.

hairpin leg bench by chloe

Chloe is lucky to have a salvaged wood resource in her area. Check around as you may have a place near you. Sometimes recycling centers also reclaim building material. If not, keep an eye out for deconstruction or renovations in your area. Often enough folks are happy to give out materials reducing what ends up in the landfill.

As always, let us know what you’re building and how you decided what to build with…we’re always excited to see what DIY furniture builders come up with.

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Summertime is DIY Hairpin Leg Furniture Time

Summer is a great time for making that piece of DIY furniture you’ve been thinking about. The days are longer and the weather is warmer – great times to work in the garage with the door open or to be out in the yard; and nothing makes better custom furniture than metal hairpin legs.

Our customers have built hairpin leg furniture using hundred-year- old barn boards and fallen tree trunks from their own front yard – anything goes. DIY furniture resources abound, and there have never been more DIY’ers talking about turning pallets into beautiful creations, reclaiming wood, and upcycling various building materials than there are today. Hairpin legs are the perfect way to turn your earth-friendly creations into durable stylish furniture.

The hairpin leg style originated at the turn of the century and the clean, modern look is still relevant to this day. If you’re looking for a more angular feel, our square bar hairpin legs and our bench legs might be the right choice. These solid or tube steel (your choice) legs are designed to hold the weight demands of a bench, but don’t let the name hold you back – bench legs make great tables and desks as well.

Making a piece of furniture yourself gives you the ability to tailor the piece to your exact needs. Plus, it will make a great conversation piece. Perhaps you know exactly what your space needs or maybe you’re still planning out the details. But no matter what you decide, your custom hairpin leg furniture will offer you much utility and pleasure for years to come!

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William’s Reclaimed Barn Board Table with Bench Legs

closeup reclaimed table with custom bench legs

We created our custom metal bench legs to give our customers another option to build beautiful and sturdy benches. Over the years, the legs have taken on a life of their own and are now used on all kinds of amazing furniture. Bench legs are a sturdy way to create a dining room table while maximizing foot space under the table. All of our metal legs – hairpin legs and otherwise, make great tables. What makes the bench legs unique is the distinct look and strength the add to a project.

William made this table for a client was looking to combine farmhouse design with industrial strength legs. William sourced 1800’s reclaimed white oak barn board for this handsome table.

William is a Master Craftsman Woodworker that established Vintage Woodworkz in 2014. He specializes in custom furniture made from salvaged barn wood in the Midwest. This reclaimed oak table is a great example of his unique style—one that pays homage to the wood’s previous life. William told us,

The wood had a tremendous amount of character as harvested, so I wanted to maintain as much of this as possible during the fabrication process while still making the table practical to use.

Reclaimed wood is an amazing material for custom furniture projects. For this particular piece William made sure to highlight the ribbon grain of both quarter sawn planks as well as the original mill and saw marks. William goes on to tell us about the process of putting it all together,

I joined the boards by gluing them together. The breadboard ends have live edges and are attached using mortise and tendon joinery to allow for expansion and contraction of the table planks.

Balancing the original look with full functionality makes this table beautiful and practical. The finished piece is truly one of a kind! Thank you for sharing William, the bench legs perfectly highlight your expert craftsmanship!