Category: Customer Photos

Heath made a custom hairpin leg table with wood from his own property for his mother’s birthday – we can’t think of a better birthday gift! Here’s what he has to say about it:

I completed this project a few months back as a birthday present for my mom. This slab was taken from a Maple tree with incredible spalting that was taken down on our property. Just so happens that the rings counted out to exactly my mom’s age, although I’m not sure she would want me to share that! I took the raw steel legs and applied a blackening agent to create the dark finish. Great product and good turn around time. Will definitely be purchasing again.

Great story Heath, thanks for sharing! What a great way to memorialize a tree by making it into a piece of furniture that will last a lifetime. The spalting, or coloration in the tree formed by fungus, certainly makes this piece unique and tells a story about the tree itself. If you have a tree that is part of your property or that of a friend or relative’s, saving a piece to be made into a furniture piece like this is a great way to do it. There will always be a story to tell about this table!

Our original hairpin legs look great blackened as Heath did for this table. It sets of a nice contrast with the light color of the wood and it highlights the wood itself. Our hairpin legs are sold individually, not in sets, and this is exactly why. Heath chose to use three legs on this table which works perfectly; not only will three legs hold the table and keep it stable; the slightly asymmetrical shape of the table nicely fits the three legs. Thank you for sharing Heath and Happy Birthday to your mother!

One of the best things about our hairpin legs is that they truly allow you to make any piece of furniture you want. From type of furniture – coffee table, desk, dining room table, to materials used – repurposed door, upgraded existing table, slab wood, reclaimed pallet, or even a beer crate! And that is just what Caitlin did. Check out this awesome beer crate hairpin leg table.

More than a few of us have seen an antique crate that was created for milk, beer or fruit and thought, ‘what a cool crate…but what would I use it for?’, well, an antique crate makes a great side table. The finished piece is certainly unique and the beer company’s logo adds character.

If you don’t have crates like these lying around, check out your local antique shops, flea markets or yard sales. When Caitlin paired the crate with our metal hairpin legs, she was able to preserve the antique look, because the legs have a timeless quality to them. Whether your wooden box is an antique or not, adding a set of hairpin legs will give it a classic look.

At Modern Legs we offer hairpin legs from 4-inches in height to 30-inches so no matter what your project you’ll be sure to have the metal legs that fit perfectly. Caitlin used the original style hairpin legs for her project but we make other styles as well such as Just the Tip legs and 3 rod hairpin legs. Check out all of our offerings and see what works best for your project. All of our metal legs are made to order and are made right here in the USA!

A recent customer sent us a picture of the set of end tables they made with our hairpin legs and we’re glad they did! This pair is painted a very colorful and lively pattern bringing the tables to life. This customer chose to use three hairpin legs per table – which is a common layout for stools as well.

There are some advantages to using three legs instead of four. First of all they take up less floor space. That gives the user more room around the table and the ability to place the table in the corner.

We also like the use of the classic hairpin legs on one of the tables and the modern twist hairpin legs on the other table. It is a nice combination. If you’re thinking of making a smaller piece of metal leg furniture, think about what size tabletop you’ll be using. If you’re making a smaller tabletop perhaps three legs would be best for your project which will save you a little time and material.

We have lots of styles of hairpin legs to use in addition to those on these tables. Check out our 3 rod hairpin legs and our Just the Tip legs as well. All of our metal legs are made to order right here in the US. Send us a pic of your project when you’re done so you can inspire other DIY furniture enthusiasts!

We love seeing the trend of hand-crafted conference room tables! Large factory-build meeting tables may look like a dime a dozen, but they sure don’t cost a dime. Our suggestion is: build or commission your own table and end up with a unique table that’s built with quality and personality. Custom metal hairpin legs and a beautiful wooden tabletop are the basic essentials for an amazing table.

Here is a great table TJ build using our three rod hairpin legs. After he finished he said,

Thank you so much. This is the third table I have built using your products and I love them more and more. Thanks!

We love getting feedback about our metal legs and seeing what our customers build with them. This gorgeous table has lots of stability and style. The thickness of the wooden tabletop gives the table strength and durability but also character. The wood’s natural shape has been kept on the edges and the sheer size of that tabletop itself is impressive!

How often do we see a single piece of wood that size these days? We’d rather meet around a table like this than a Formica-topped table any day!

If you’re thinking of making a larger table like this, you’ve come to the right place. All of our metal hairpin legs are designed to hold plenty of weight, but the three rod legs like TJ used are even sturdier and can definitely handle a huge tabletop such as this one – they are made of half-inch steel after all. Thanks for sharing TJ, great job!

Deciding which metal legs to use for your table can be a challenge. Not only do we carry multiple styles of hairpin legs, but we also carry two styles of bench legs. Each style of leg offers different style and support options and although bench legs are often used for benches, they also make great table legs.

Here is a beautiful example from Sue. This is an entryway table using bench legs. What a great design! The tabletop is a thick slab of wood and the edges keep the natural growth patterns of the tree. The bench legs nicely add structure as well as style to this table.

Our standard bench legs made from very durable flat bar steel (which Sue chose to use here). We also offer tube steel bench legs and both offer maximum support if you’re intending to put your table through a lot of heavy use. We think Sue would agree that they also just look good, and they bring a solid, simple finishing touch to a beautiful piece of DIY furniture.

Bench legs differ from hairpin legs slightly in that the legs for each end of the table are one unit – therefore two bench legs are used on a standard table where four hairpin legs would be used. We offer standard bench leg sizes but you can always ask us about customization. If you have a certain leg height in mind, drop us a line and more than likely we’ll be able to accommodate. After all, every set of metal legs we offer are made to order. And they are all made right here in the USA as well. When you’re done, send us a pic of your creation!

Here is an amazingly creative table design from our customer Emily. This table was made from an old museum crate! What a great idea.

The museum crate was left intact with its markings and handles to keep the authentic feel part of the finished table. Then it was covered with a sheet of glass to be used as the tabletop and to allow the inside of the box to be seen as well. The metal legs used on this table are short angle iron legs we custom made for the project. As Emily points out, this table is heavy and the angle iron legs are a great way to support the extra weight:

I’m making a coffee table from an old museum crate. It’s 36″ long x 22″ high x 18″ tall. I have no idea how heavy it is [but] it’s hefty

As we do with many of our customers, we custom made the legs to fit and support the table. There are many different options to pair up heavy tables and metal legs. First of all, all of our metal legs – hairpin legs and otherwise – are designed to handle the load of any standard table and its accompanying uses. But there are a few metal legs that are heavier duty and will do well holding up additional loads. The three rod hairpin legs, our metal bench legs and the tapered angle iron legs are great options for heavier furniture.

If you’re inspired by Emily to build your next table, let our custom metal legs be the finishing touch for your next furniture project. As always our hat is off to Emily…thank you for sharing a picture of the finished result. It goes to show that almost anything can make a great DIY coffee table!

We say this a lot, but we love seeing an old piece of furniture turned into a new one. Joan chose our tapered angle iron legs instead of one of our many hairpin leg styles. Her feeling was that the angle iron legs would share the sturdy, blocky feel of the tabletop and we agree!

This is a table made with 100+ year old cherry that has been covered with glass. We’ve seen other customers cover tabletops with glass as well, and a glass covering does a number of things. First of all it protects the tabletop itself. Spills or damp materials that might otherwise damage antique or untreated wood will be well protected by a thick piece of glass. Secondly, it puts the tabletop on display. A glass covered tabletop highlights the unique features and draws the eye to the tabletop itself.

A third great reason to add glass to the top of your table is the added options it provides. Wood that is slatted, uneven, or otherwise not flat is given a flat surface with glass—allowing nearly any building material to become a tabletop. One of the things Joan appreciated about our metal legs is,

the fact that we could order legs to make an optimal height table for computer use

To ensure the table is just the right height for you, measure the thickness of your tabletop –and glass if you’ll be adding that to the top–and subtract that sum from the overall height you want your table. We offer modern metal legs (including hair pin legs) in many different heights so you’ll have lots of options to make sure your future table is just the height that works for you. Thanks for sharing Joan, we love the table!

Our metal hairpin legs are designed to last—heck, they are made of ½ inch steel! The legs can weather the typical use of any table leg with flying colors. Leaving them just the way they are when you take them out of the box is just fine. Or you can dress them up a bit with paint or further protect them with a clear coat.

Mike decided to dress his 3 rod hairpin legs up a bit by allowing they to rust a little bit and then preserving the finish. Mike used lemon juice to add a fine patina and then sealed that in, creating a look his clients were looking for. Here’s what Mike had to say:

My client wanted a “classy workbench” and his wife suggested using hairpin legs to give it a modern, lighter appearance. I took those two design desires and turned this out. Your hairpin legs were first oxidized using about 2 gallons of lemon juice and a six-hour bath in plastic trough, then dried and hand waxed to preserve the patina. Thanks again for the great product.

Metal legs will be great for use on a workbench. They are durable and won’t be easily banged up like wooden legs can be in a working environment. Thank you for sharing Mike! The finished piece looks great and thanks for sharing another great way to use hairpin legs.

Whether you’re using our hairpin legs for yourself or for a client, there are many ways to dress up the metal legs to further customize them for a specific project. From painting to oiling to oxidizing, let us know if you come up with a great way to finish your metal hairpin legs!

Here at Modern Legs we love what we do – making metal legs. But even more, we love seeing what our customers do with them. A custom made piece of furniture can really dress up any space it’s added to. Sometimes a unique piece of furniture transforms an office or a home into something amazing, instead of the cookie cutter feeling so many workplaces have. Office spaces tend to be standardized and less imaginative that our homes.

Annie has made sure that won’t be said of this conference room. The table she constructed transforms the atmosphere of the room and nicely brings together all other aspects of the room from the wood décor to the metal support structure. The wood is a gorgeous live edge piece that brings the wildness of the tree into the more sterile interior world. Annie has used metal bench legs to create a simple yet strong supportive look for this conference room table.

The metal bench legs…or should we say, metal table legs are a solid metal leg style that offers great stability and can handle heavier loads than standalone legs. We offer two styles – tube steel and flat bar – in standard and custom heights. Get in touch if you want to make a custom piece like this and chances are we’ll be able to come up with a perfect fit for the table, bench or anything else you’re thinking of building. Great job Annie! We’re proud to share your piece as inspiration for others, and we know you’ll get compliments on the table for years to come.