Category: DIY Furniture

Making your own hairpin leg table is as simple as finding an old door and adding hairpin legs, but one customer took the process to the next level. Katie Slater, of Katie Slater Photography, used our angle iron metal legs to make the desk that best fit her office and her design. She topped vintage doors with glass for a clean sharp look.

Here’s what Katie said about her process:

The table tops are vintage salvage doors that I sanded down and painted white. I ordered custom glass for the tops of the tables. 🙂 I love them and I love the legs! Thank you!

Thanks Katie, great work! One of the best things about DIY furniture projects is that you can make the finished product as simple or elaborate as you want. We offer many custom metal table legs, and we’re always open to new suggestions. Our hairpin legs mimic turn of the century modern style. Katie chose our tapered angle iron legs for her projects. They offer a straight sleek look that offer a lot of strength and stability while using minimal space. Whichever style of you choose, your project will look great with any of our metal legs!

Bob in Cleveland is back! Last week we highlighted the elm burl end table Bob made using our Twist hairpin legs. As much as we love making hairpin legs we don’t limit ourselves. We like to Say, “If it’s made of metal, chances are we can make it” …and we love taking on custom orders for anyone looking for something a little different.

Bob was looking for a custom coatrack. We were happy to get him some railroad spikes in the shape that worked for this project. Bob did the rest by pairing them up with a beautiful slab of wood. Keeping the irregular shape of the wood by using its live edge–and keeping some bark–adds to the overall beauty of this rack. This will look amazing no matter where it is hung and be highly functional too! No matter your project, we’re here to help.

If you’re thinking of a table for the dining room, living room or kitchen, check out our selection of hairpin legs. They come in different diameters, heights, and styles. Our metal bench legs are great for – benches (of course) but they also work great for tables as well. And of course there is all the custom metal work we’ve done. Don’t hesitate to let us know what you’re thinking about for your project, we’d love to hear what you have in mind. Here’s what Bob had to say after working with us

Excellent craftsmanship; super service

We’re glad you liked it, Bob. Thanks!

Which came first, the hairpin legs or the tabletop? Sometimes we know we want to make a table with hairpin legs. And, sometimes we have tabletop we know needs a set of legs. Which method works best for you?

Cassie had an old trunk that needed the right parts to make it into a usable furniture piece. Our square bar hairpin legs were just the thing! Cassie says,

I love trunks and found this cute one in a cute boutique called Knot Too Shabby in Monrovia, Ca. I had to find something to do with it! So entered your company to help me out with that and the legs you guys made were just perfect!

Thank you, Cassie!

For some folks it’s easy to start put together the pieces of a new DIY table. But if that’s not how it’s feeling for you, no worries! There is no right way to go about making custom furniture. You can think about what height, width, depth, colors, materials, and so on. You can think about furniture pieces you already have – what aspects do you like and what could be improved? Maybe an existing piece you own could use a facelift? Looking through yard sales or antique shops can turn up the perfect tabletop. You can peruse our hairpin leg collection. You can start with the hairpin legs you like and then look for the tabletop. No matter how you go about it we’re confident you’ll come up with a hairpin leg table worth sending us a picture!

Here is a great project from Nina – a bed platform! We love seeing what our customers come up with when they want custom built furniture without paying top tier prices. Nina’s bed is no exception. Using hairpin legs to make a bed platform is a great idea. Many of us have a generic bed frame we’ve had for ages. When it comes time to replace it, it can take time to decide exactly what you want. Why not just make it?

Having a bed frame designed to support just a mattress – without a box spring, has many advantages. First of all, it saves money by not getting a box spring whenever your mattress is replaced. This also saves time and space any time you (and your bed) move. Bed platforms offer additional support during sleep as well. Worn box springs can detract from quality of sleep. A solid frame ensures the mattress will always be well supported. Nina put a lot of thought into how to make her bed platform. Here is how she went about it:

The bed platform is twin size…made from hickory. The slats are 1.5 inches apart and we purchased a Saatva (luxury firm) mattress. The project came out beautifully and it’s very comfortable. We were so glad you suggested the heavy gauge leg.

As you can see, our Just the Tip hairpin legs were used, and as Nina mentioned, they are the heavier gauge steel. Both of these options add additional stability to ensure stability for such a large and important piece of furniture. Many great nights of sleep will be had on this bed! Thanks for sharing, Nina! Great job!

Finding the right piece of furniture for your home can be difficult. Sometimes you have a vision of what you’re looking for but are not able to find that perfect piece. The obvious solution to that is making it yourself! We love that our hairpin legs help folks get the perfect piece of furniture for their space. Preferences and home décor trends change often and can be very personal. Making something yourself supports and highlights those individualities.

Our hairpin legs are the perfect complement to your custom furniture project. From coffee tables to dining room tables our hairpin legs have seen it all. Kristi used our hairpin legs to create this amazing end table. It is so satisfying knowing that a piece of furniture in your home was made by you and is one-of-a-kind. Making an end table like Kristi’s can be fun and simple.

Visiting antique stores or even old garage sales can turn up treasures that could be your next home furniture project. We know you’ll love our product, just like Kristi,

So pleased with the legs! Couldn’t wait to get them on! Thank you!

We’re glad you’re enjoying them Kristi, thanks for sharing!

Sometimes we’re looking for a piece of furniture to complete a room in our home. Sometimes we have a piece of furniture we know we want in our home but we’re not sure where. Either way, our hairpin legs are here to help! Our tall hairpin legs are perfect for desks and dining room tables. Our shorter metal legs go perfectly with bureaus and larger or lower to the ground furniture pieces. We offer different styles to fit the use and look of the furniture you are making. No matter the way you are going about the process, we know you’ll be delighted at how our hairpin legs hold up the furniture you create. Liz found the furniture she wanted to use before she was sure how she wanted to use it. Here’s how she went about her project:

I bought the cabinet at a barn sale in Frederick, MD with the intent of using it as a tall table in my entry foyer. I had it for at least a year before I finally settled on its use. I had a narrow space and needed a side table for my sofa. Then I ran across Modern Legs on Etsy. The fact that you could customize the size for me made all the difference. I decided I wanted to keep the cabinet in its original state, but I did add a little color by painting the top and sides with Sherwin Williams Drizzle.

We’re so glad you found us Liz! Your table is one of a kind, and we’re so glad you shared it with us. Whether you’re looking for a use for furniture you already have or are starting from scratch, our hairpin legs will provide a solid base for whatever you come up with. Send us a pic when you’re done so we can see the end result!

Redwood, turquoise inlay, and hairpin legs? It’s almost more than we can handle! Bruce shared this inspiring coffee table made with our 3 rod hairpin legs. The redwood looks gnarly and rugged with the living aspects of the tree intact. When wood is cut and dried it can form natural cracks. These cracks can be ignored or more often they are filled in. A simple clear epoxy will certainly get the job done. But an even better option can be turquoise inlay. The contrast between wood and turquoise really brings a piece to life. Bruce runs BP Sheely Designs in Utah and we’re proud to have him as a customer. We love seeing what he makes. Here’s what he has to say about us:

I am totally excited about Modern Legs. Best legs on the web. I cannot match anything else locally.

Thanks Bruce, your work is inspiring! This table is a great example of how hairpin legs can perfectly fit custom tables. This non-standard tabletop shape does not lend itself well to the standard four-leg layout. Ordering only the legs he needed, Bruce was able to place them perfectly.

All of our metal legs are made right here in the USA! We also source our steel from the U.S. So for those of you like Bruce who are making amazing custom work, you can be sure that when you add our metal legs to your hand crafted creations, you’re supporting US craftsmanship. Thank you for sharing Bruce!

Common household objects can often be used to create beautiful DIY furniture. Can you guess what Victoria’s end table was originally meant for? She used a computer monitor stand to make this old fashioned looking table! Here’s what Victoria did in her own words:

For this project, we used a couple of different things in addition to the tapered legs – wooden computer monitor stands (which already had a drawer in them) and a sheet of pine from the hardware store. We cut down the pine to fit the base of the monitor stands since they were open underneath the drawer, then stained it, and attached them together. We used a rag to apply a little bit of the new stain over the existing stain on the monitor stands, so that the color was a better match, and to darken the overall appearance. After those were assembled, we used a clear coat over the metal legs, and then attached them to the pine base. It was as easy as that!

Next time you’re looking for inspiration, take a second look at some common household items and see if they are good candidates for a new life as hairpin leg furniture. Both our hairpin legs and our tapered angle iron legs go perfectly on a project like this. They are durable and capture the simple lines of turn-of-the-century-style. Can’t choose what is best for your project? Take a tour through our blog posts to see what others have done. We know you’ll come up with something great!

Mesquite is a beautiful and unique wood. Jamie sourced a large mesquite slab to make this gorgeous coffee table—not always easy depending on where you live! She chose to use our classic hairpin legs, which accommodate lots of styles and won’t steal the show. If you want a table which focuses on the wood…we tend to suggest the classic hairpins.

This coffee table will be stable and secure without having to conform to the standard square or rectangular shape. For some projects the number of metal legs needed might be more or less than four legs. Jamie chose a customized layout for her table legs, and it let her use a long, unique slab by doing so. Our hairpin legs are all ordered by the piece so the number you order is completely up to you and your project. If you get part way through a project and realize an additional leg would offer the best support; that is easy to add.

We find that most of the DIY hairpin leg furniture our customers make becomes a centerpiece of the room – an eye attraction, if you will. There is something about custom-made furniture that just does that. Jamie’s room, for example, is a neat and nicely put together. The eye cannot help but be pulled to this one-of-a-kind, homemade coffee table. Notice how the hairpin legs support the tabletop – the main player in this piece, but do not steal the show. The final finish you choose to use on the hairpin legs gives you control over how much attention they draw. Keeping them stock lets them play a supporting role in the piece – literally. A finish like a colorful paint will increase the amount of attention they demand. Choose what works best for your project and preferences. And when you’re done, send us a pic so we can see your masterpiece!