Custom End Tables

I have to admit this idea has been floating around my head for a looong time. Seriously, like, over a year!..So I am very happy to finally have these end tables done! It started with my love for luggage racks -something about them makes my heart sing - so when I found a pair of luggage racks at Ross a year ago, I didn't even hesitate to get them. I'm lying - I did hesitate because I'm stingy - but the price was only $12.99 each and I knew I probably wouldn't find them cheaper anywhere else, so in the cart they went!

I had no idea at the time what I was going to use for the top, but knew I would figure it out later.

I'm kinda lame and forgot to take a 'before' picture so I took a picture of the box =)

I have these great picnic baskets that I thought would work great on top, but they ended up being too small, so I decided to ask my dad to make some trays that would fit on top.

I was originally going to go for a little bit classier of a look that the rest of my rustic furniture, but I knew it would be hard to match the stain, so I went with my love of all things green - meaning I painted it Behr's Lucky Bamboo (Yes, I love that color!).

And of course I had to add some Minwax Early American to tone down the color a bit.

Next came the tray making. Pine was used for the sides and I want to say the bottom was some kind of plywood...but I could be wrong.

Ahhh, lookin' good already.

I stained them Early American and did 2 coats of poly, but they were still missing something.  I wanted them to look like old crates or maybe something you would use to transport supplies from the garden shed to the garden. That's where I got the idea to attach handles.

I got these from Home Depot for a little over $3 each. I think they are supposed to be used on screen doors, but they worked perfectly for this project.

And here is the finished product:

The place mat came from Target. It was on clearance for under $3 and I bought 2 of them months ago, knowing I would be using them for this project.

I sanded the handles to bring down the shine a little bit and I think they will get a natural patina over time.

Since I wanted this to look rustic, I purposely didn't fill in the nail holes.

They aren't actually attached yet because I am waiting until after I move, but when I do attach them, I am planning on using some simple L brackets.

I hope you enjoyed this project and found some inspiration!