Category: Customer Photos

We’re excited to share this hairpin leg console Jerrud made. For those who like a challenge, check this out! There is a reason we offer such variety in our hairpin leg sizes. Even though this is such a large piece of furniture, it needs quite short legs. Lifting the furniture just a little bit off of the floor makes all the difference. Adding small and tasteful metal legs to a piece can make it an elegant piece of furniture; it makes everything flow smoothly from a design perspective.

We all go about building in our own way. Some of us look around the garage for useful materials that could be repurposed into a nice piece of furniture. We’ve been known to throw a set of metal legs onto an old door and call it a table. Any kind of hairpin leg furniture is fine by us, but Jerrud takes planning to a higher level. From planning with CAD software to having professionally cut wood Jerrud’s project is DIY in name only…he went about creating this table like a pro! Here’s a peek into Jerrud’s process,

This is my latest custom media console. I draw the table in Adobe Illustrator and send the pieces to be cut on a CNC panel saw. I assemble and finish in my shop. I’ve used Modern Legs on 5 tables now and am very happy with the quality.

Thanks for sharing your process, Jerrud. We’re so glad we can be a resource for your unique and beautiful furniture designs! We can’t wait to see what your next hairpin leg project will be!

Desks come in all shapes and sizes – especially if you make it yourself! A custom made desk is pretty well guaranteed to fit exactly what you are looking for. When making your own furniture you can make sure it meets your personal needs as well as fitting perfectly into the space you want it will live. This simple and elegant desk fits all of Dean’s needs without hogging too much space. Notice how sturdy the hairpin legs are without taking up much space. This desk will be solidly supported by the 3 rod hairpin legs Dean chose while leaving lots of room for chair and leg space underneath. The edges of this wooden tabletop are nicely rounded – a nice touch for comfort when sitting close. This project is a great example of how simple it can be to make a desk and also a great example of how beautiful the finished product can be. This table consists of a solid wooden tabletop with hairpin legs securely attached underneath.

 

Choosing the hairpin leg style for your furniture is fun! If you like to stick with the basics, the original hairpin leg might be for you. Our standard hairpin legs are a great option when the legs are intended to support the table and highlight the tabletop without stealing the show.

Our square bar hairpin legs are another simple style of bent hairpin legs. Creating the same shape, the square bar metal leg offers the same support while the metal rod is square; bringing a different look to the piece over all. These are perfect for a more rustic look or when matching wrought iron features in the surrounding area.

The 3 rod hairpin legs—which Dean chose to use–add a third upright to the original bar. This metal leg style will hold more weight for projects where added weight may be a concern. But they also add a nice visual dimension as you can see from Dean’s desk. For more unique hairpin legs check out our Just the Tip and Twist hairpin legs. They offer more unique lines while still sticking with the modern hairpin leg theme.

Live edge wood is so unique! Capturing a tree’s living edge adds a rough, wild look to furniture. The smooth finished surface of the inner wood itself nicely compliments the live edge while providing a smooth working surface. Laurie’s live edge black walnut sofa table is just gorgeous!

The dark and light wood adds such depth to the table. As you can see the slab itself is quite thick. Tabletops certainly do not have to be this thick to function properly, but it is such a nice piece of wood we wouldn’t change it either! Our Just the Tip hairpin legs go very nicely with this table. The strong durable aspects of the wood are nicely matched with the extra “tip” or foot of this hairpin leg style. Here is what Laurie had to say,

Thank you so much…the legs you sent are wonderful. We will be ordering more and telling others!

Laurie’s choice of table really ads a finished look to the room. Instead of looking at the back of a couch now there is an eye catching, one of a kind table there. All our hairpin legs come in a large range of sizes from as small as 4-inches all the way up to 30-inches.

If you’re not sure what size you should order, there are some standard table heights. Coffee tables are typically 16-18 inches in height. Dining room tables are typically 30 inches high. But more important than the standards, are your home’s measurements. Couches, for example, can vary in height. Do you want to be able to access your couch table while sitting, or while standing from the other side? Is your couch lower or higher than a standard couch? Making a table for your current couch will determine its height.

One more great thing about our metal legs is: you don’t have to commit to your table height forever. If you upgrade your couch later and it is a different height, you can always order another set of hairpin legs from us and change them out for the current set. Then the old set can be used for another awesome piece of hairpin leg furniture!

An entryway table can do more than just provide a neat place to put things. It can be a welcome home. Walking in to a table you made is a great feeling. Entryway tables can be simple and sparse or they can provide a home to all the useful things you need near the front door.

How difficult is it to build your own entryway table? It can be as simple or complex as you’d like it to be. You can get a pre-sized piece of wood from your local sawmill or hardware store and attach your hairpin legs. Or you can make an elaborate piece if you’re up for the challenge. Here’s what Sean chose to do:

I used the 28″ just the tip legs from you. The wood is 125 year old cedar from the original water tower of the town of Minot ND railway. The pieces are 4″ thick 8″ wide and 54″ long. I rough sanded with 80 grit and finished with 120. I used a 2-part resin glaze and did 2 coats. For a little metal on the top I used metal flashing and lag bolts.

Repurposing a salvaged piece of wood is a great way to make furniture. Not only does it keep building materials out of the landfill but unique pieces like Sean’s give additional meaning to homemade furniture. If you see a renovation project going on in an old building ask them what they’re doing with the old wood – you may be going home with a new tabletop! Thanks for sharing, Sean, we love your entryway table!

There are so many ways to go about choosing which style of hairpin legs you want to use for your home furniture project. Sometimes the intended use of the furniture is the key factor. The shape of the piece you’re working on may dictate which metal legs will best fit.

Keith knew our three rod metal legs would best fit this project as the goal was to keep things in threes. Here was Keith’s motivation:

Moving into a small apartment with only myself and two young daughters, I focused on the idea of 3: 3 people, 3 legs and a 3-sided table. So I ordered only 3 legs from you and cut a piece of affordable melamine into the shape of a triangle so each of us would face one another. The melamine is ideal for them to do art projects on. Thanks for the great legs.

This table came out great, Keith! It is a great point to keep in mind that there are many options for tabletops. We often think of wood because it is easy to find and hairpin legs are extremely useful when rebuilding or refinishing a table.

Keith’s melamine table is a great option too. The light color of the table and unobtrusive nature of the hairpin legs nicely compliments the darker aspects of the apartment. And as Keith points out, the number of metal legs used on your project will vary depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. Three legs were perfect for this project! Thanks for sharing Keith – we can tell there will be many fun afternoons at this table!

We’ve been seeing a lot more behind-the-couch tables recently and we can see why. This style of table is very convenient for use during couch time without taking up a lot of space. Many living spaces have room for a slender table behind the couch even if there isn’t room (or desire) for a coffee table in the front. This beautiful table was made by Presley. Check out the slowly curving lines of this table. Our Twist hairpin legs go perfectly with Presley’s table. The soft curving lines of both the tabletop and the hairpin legs perfectly complement each other. Nicely paired!

We sometimes get questions about using our metal legs on hardwood surfaces. Should pads be used to protect the floor and keep the table in place? That is of course completely up to each user but there are situations where it makes sense. The end use of the table as well as the floor itself are both determining factors. But some folks have really enjoyed having them on their metal legs. As you can see, Presley has chosen to use them on this table. If your metal legs will be directly on a hardwood floor your concerned about scratches, it might be a good idea to pad the bottoms of the legs. Tables that may be bumped frequently or are in a high traffic area may also benefit. Some wood floors are more prone to dings and indents than others, so if protecting your floor is a high priority, it may be better to be safe than sorry. See our FAQ for more information on what pads might work well for our hairpin legs. Either way, we know you’ll love having your own piece of hairpin leg furniture in your home!

Looking for an amazing hairpin leg table design? Check out these amazing silhouette tables by Quest and Haven. We think these tables prove there is no limit to the what a hairpin leg table can be. These tables were made by a husband and wife team out of Fayetteville, Arkansas. They have made tables in the shape of Arkansas, Australia, Germany, China, Africa, California, and more. Talk about having a personalized hairpin leg table!

Here’s what they have to say:

We love getting to hear people’s stories of places that are near to them and make it into a piece of furniture for their home

We think hairpin legs are just perfect for these tables. See how sturdy and resilient they are without hogging the show? With a table this precious you want to know a set of enduring legs will be holding it up for decades to come. And that is just what our metal legs do. There’s not much in the way of furniture that a set of four bent steel rods 5/8” think won’t hold up. And they keep the feeling of light and airiness in the room without compromising durability. Quest and Haven is on Facebook and Instagram if you want to see more of their work or get in touch. We’re proud to see our hairpin legs on such amazing works of art.

Making room in our lives for the things we love is essential. We should all be surrounded by things that remind us of who we are and make it easy for us to use the things we love. Custom metal legs can make that happen. Our customers have used our metal legs to make everything from a bench leg bookshelf to a hairpin leg sewing table. Here is another great example. This keyboard bench is made with tube steel bench legs.

The customer said,

Just wanted to show you how my bench turned out. I love it! Thank you so much!

We love it too! It is so rewarding to have a stable and reliable surface for something precious like a musical instrument. And all without taking up much space. This bench is very well appointed and could neatly fit in virtually any home. What projects are you been looking to spend more time on? A hairpin leg table or a new custom bench can make it happen. The great thing about our metal legs is that you can get them in whatever size works for your needs. Our hairpin legs all come in sizes from 4” to 30” and our two styles of bench legs (tube steel and flat bar) can be built in pretty much any dimension. No matter your home or office needs, we know our metal legs will enhance your life!

One of the great things about being a small company is that we make each and every set of metal legs to order. One of the side effects is that we can change what we offer to meet customers’ needs. Our original hairpin legs are great many applications. They are a classic style recreating the original hairpin leg design that came out at the turn of the century. It is also fun to change the style a bit offering a bit of variation. Our ‘Just the Tip’ legs are a variation on the original hairpin leg where the end of the leg is positioned at a right angle to the rest of the leg – just the tip is bent out.

This style of leg was what Mike chose to use on this gorgeous set of walnut tables. Mike says:

This coffee table and end table are solid walnut slabs with live edges finished naturally. I searched many different styles and websites. This particular leg just kept pulling me back.

When I do my next project that requires legs I know where I will be shopping again.

Thanks for choosing our metal legs Mike, we’re glad they were just what you needed. Mike’s picture shows the detail of just how thick and sturdy our metal legs really are. There will be no problem with them holding up these large slabs of walnut. The natural edges look great and is well highlighted by the clear coat. Thanks for sharing these beautiful tables Mike, we can’t wait to see what you build next!

Here at Modern Legs our metal hairpin legs are just the tip of the iceberg. We love offering the classic hairpin legs and all they stand for. They are a timeless style originating at the turn of the century. Their continued use today demonstrates their versatility in our ever-changing modern lives. Despite the many variations on the timeless classic there are situations where a different style fits.

Nick demonstrates that perfectly with this reclaimed door and angle iron metal leg match. Here’s what Nick had to say about it:

Thanks so much for the great tapered angle iron legs I used for my dining room table. They look great attached to this salvaged closet door I bought and refinished.

This table looks amazing! The refinished table maintains its character nicely with its shiny new finish. The straight edges of the tapered angle iron legs go perfectly with the straight form of the door. As Nick mentioned, this table is used as a dining room table. We offer different leg heights so you can make any style table you want – from coffee table, to end table, to desk. Our metal legs come in sizes from 4” to 30” – just measure from the underside of your tabletop to the floor to see how tall you want the metal legs to be. Once your new legs arrive you can drill some guide holes for the screws and then screw the legs into the tabletop. It’s as simple as it sounds! We look forward to seeing what you come up with!