Modern Legs

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!

Couch tables are a great way to provide living room table space without taking up a lot of room. Tucked closely behind the couch itself this style of table provides easy access to phones, glasses and drinks without hogging a lot of space on either side of the couch or breaking up a room the way a coffee table can. Even a thin couch table can provide an easily accessible horizontal surface as well as a surface for lighting, which is great for reading.

Nila’s table uses our original hairpin legs – a classic choice. As you can see the legs themselves are not positioned in the outermost corners of this table. That is one of the great benefits of making your own table – you can make it any way that suits you and the surface you are working with. Offsetting the legs on this table honors the individuality of the tabletop and highlights the curves and angles it brings to the table, pun intended.

Live edge tabletops create unique and gorgeous pieces of furniture that are always one of a kind. The dark and light colors in this piece of wood have been preserved by keeping the entire width of the log. They match the other colors in the room perfectly; drawing the space together. If you don’t have easy access to your own live edge slab simply look up your local sawmill or lumberyard and let them know what you are looking for. They can cut custom orders and may have a variety of wood types to offer. Before long you’ll be putting the finishing touches on your own hairpin leg table!