Category: DIY Furniture

Inspired woodworker and Modern Legs customer Jeff Spugnardi had his work featured in the Washington Post last week! If you look closely you’ll see the custom metal table legs we were able to contribute to this amazing dining room set.

We think you’ll agree that the masterful attention to detail and craftsmanship displayed by Jeff is truly worth the credit he’s getting in the Post…and we couldn’t help but share the article! Good work Jeff, and we’re proud to play a small role in the finished product. To check out the full article, head on over to the Washington Post.

Items that are often discarded can make a beautiful table, bench or stool with metal hairpin legs. Take the old electrical wire spool-turned-table for example. Or maybe there’s a new renovation or remodel project in your life; an old door, cabinet, or butcher block can all be salvaged and made into a beautiful new table. Even old barn beams have been turned into beautiful benches with our bench legs.

In this modern age it is unique and grounding to have a reminder of older times in our homes. Something otherwise destined for the scrap pile can be turned into a centerpiece and conversation starter in your home. It can be a piece that is meaningful to you or simply a piece that speaks to you – or just a piece that you like and that gets the job done!

We offer a variety of hairpin leg styles to ensure we have the right metal legs for your project. You can start with the wood and decide what hairpin legs will best complete the piece, or you can start with the right legs and work the other way around. Sometimes the right metal legs for your project are all about the lines and angles, or maybe you’ve already found your favorite table leg style and you need an excuse to use them.

Our metal legs come in two different diameters to meet your weight and durability needs. And they of course come in different heights – anything from 4-inches to 38-inches so you can put hairpin legs on anything from a chest of drawers to the dining room table. We know you’ll love our legs…so be sure to send us a picture of your creation when you’re done!

Using distressed or weathered wood or reclaiming wood for a DIY furniture project is a great option and a rewarding process. There are many pieces of perfectly good – and beautiful – wood that can be turned into a great piece of furniture for use with our metal hairpin legs. The wood can be completely refinished for a clean fresh look. Planing, sanding, and finishing old wood makes a beautifully aged piece of wood come alive again and the wood can look like new when you’re done.

 

Leaving remnants of the wood’s old life can is also an attractive look. Perhaps you’re using an old door or butcher block that has beautiful hardware or markings that lend uniqueness and character to your furniture. Sanding or planing the wood by hand rather than using power tools will allow you to stop along the way and decide what level of wear or weathering you’d like to leave on the final piece. Determining what type of furniture you’re looking for helps figure out what you want in the final product as well as what style of metal legs will best compliment the piece. A small unobtrusive corner table can handle a different look than a large dining or coffee table could pull off.

To finish the look you’re after, pick out one of our many metal hairpin leg options: the original, the twist, square bar hairpin legs, or metal bench legs. Our legs come in different diameters as well as heights to ensure you get the very best match for your future homemade table!

A question we get asked more than you might think is, ‘How should I orient the hairpin legs on the table itself?’ It may seem like a simple question, but once you look around the internet, you’ll see a variety of options.

It is a great question and one whose answer depends on each table being made. The standard table legs uses four hairpin legs that are angled outward from the corners of the table to give maximum stability to the table. Although this is the most common leg orientation, this is hardly the only option. Table legs can be placed parallel to the each other as in this round table with Just the Tip legs – the two legs on each side are facing the same direction. This offers a unique look to the table giving it its own character. Not all tables use four legs either – there are applications where either more or less are better suited for your project.

Four legs may be too many for a table being supported by something other than just metal legs, such as a wall or other supporting structure. Stools often use only three legs which alleviates tipping on uneven floors. On the flip side there are furniture pieces that use more than four legs. A long bench for example can utilize additional legs to add to the overall stability of the piece. So add your own creative touch to your next project and do what’s best for the piece–and for your house. When you arrive at a final decision, send us a picture! We’d love to see what you come up with!

Much of the furniture we see made with our hairpin legs utilizes plain wood paired with the simplicity of the metal legs. Often customers treat wood with simple methods such as staining or clear coating. This affords a classic look to the finished furniture.

Another great option is using paint on the tabletop. This opens up a whole world of options for your hairpin leg furniture. Plain wood can certainly be painted – or perhaps you have a wooden piece that is already painted that you would like to use. You can keep the paint on the piece, refresh the paint with a new coat, or mix coats to create a mottled look. A mottled or intentionally distressed look can be achieved by sanding down a painted piece of wood so part of the wood or undercoat shows through. Some customers paint the entire tabletop while others paint just enough for an accent color.

Painted pieces can be mixed and matched to create a design, and the metal legs themselves can be painted to offer even further color options for your hairpin leg project. We know you’ll have fun picking out the right colors for your table and its surroundings. And of course you get to choose which style of hairpin legs best fit your project – anything from the original hairpin leg to the square bar hairpin leg to our ‘Just the Tip’ legs. All of our legs are made right here in the USA of 100% steel. Have fun painting and send us a picture of what you come up with!

Black walnut is a beautiful wood that lends itself wonderfully to table making – and to other DIY projects for that matter. What we love in particular is the hue of the wood and its ability to blend so well with our hairpin legs. The metal legs we offer, including our hairpin legs, are made of dark steel. As you know steel is a strong durable material that can last a lifetime; and when it is formed correctly, it looks amazing. Those qualities are also true of black walnut so it makes a naturally partner with steel. Kristen’s table perfectly illustrates our point!

Kristen told us that she sourced the wood from a dead walnut tree…milling and sanding it to her desired dimensions. As you can see in this piece the natural edges of the wood are intentionally included – often referred to as keeping the live edge. This adds a solid look to the wood and creates a strong connection with the tree. The affect is to remind viewers of the tree itself—not just the end product.

One of the nicest features of this table is Kristen’s use of space. When using a specific piece of wood for a piece of furniture one of the best ways to create the perfect finished piece is to work with the wood’s natural features. Kristen’s piece of black walnut is wider at one end than the other. You can see how the use of three legs instead of the traditional four really compliments the piece. The three legs offer more legroom while simultaneously accenting the change in table depth. Kristen chose The Twist hairpin legs for this furniture project; The Twist hairpin legs offer a literal twist on the classic hairpin leg and perfectly complements the soft round features of this piece of black walnut. Great job Kristen, thanks for sharing!

We love talking about what a great resource pallets are. They are a great source of quality building material. Here is a great example of how pallet wood can be beautifully finished and repurposed. Brady made his coffee table from pallet wood using our tapered angle iron legs. The angle iron table legs offer a different look from our hairpin legs. They are made of hot rolled steel giving them a rustic look; their unique angles will match the angle-cut pallet wood and draw the piece together.

Our angle iron legs come in even inch sizes from 4″ – 30″ tall. We offer two sizes as well: 2″ x 1/8″ angle iron recommended only for heights under 26″ and decorative pieces and 3″ x 3/16″ for any piece where stability and strength will be required of your piece.

For those of you who really like DIY furniture projects, sourcing some pallet is a great starting point. Stronger pallets use thick wood that can be easily reclaimed and turned into a finished piece…and you get the satisfaction of turning something that would otherwise be thrown out into a functional piece of household furniture. Brady describes his coffee table as having legs that are attached by being “screwed up underneath, tight into the corner to a plywood base beneath the angled sections of pallet wood.” Thanks for sharing Brady, excellent work with the pallet wood coffee table!

A hairpin legs desk will certainly stand out in your home…as well as offer a long-lasting furniture solution. Our thin styled metal hairpin legs leave ample room for legs and chairs without compromising stability or durability. Here is a great piece made by Olivier. It’s a great showcase of what anyone can plan and create at home: a one-of-a-kind desk. Olivier stared with hairpin legs and added an IKEA countertop as the surface for his kid’s desk. Here is what Olivier had to say:

My wife really wanted hairpin legs. So the desk was built around it. The top is made out of a ‘butcher block’ kitchen counter, bought at IKEA and then stained antique oak.

What a great finished piece! The dark stain on the wood nicely complements the metal leg. Choosing a top that is not too deep makes it fit well in the hallway space while still providing plenty of desktop.

If you are interested in making your own desk you can order hairpin legs considered standard table or desk height which is 28 – 30 inches. Or if you use a table or desk whose height feels right that you’d like to mimic, measure the floor to tabletop height and you’ll know how long your hairpin legs need to be. We offer even sizes from 4 to 30 inches so you can order any height you need. You can even order varied height hairpin legs to put on a more traditional drawer-style desk.

Enjoy your new desk Olivier, and thanks for sharing!