aly daly design blog: My Favorite Dining Table -DIY

This is my favorite dining table I've made to date and there have been quite a few. It seems I can rarely find exactly what I'm looking for so I have it made. The great thing is nine times out of ten is less expensive for me to make what i dream up in my mind as opposed to trying to buy something similar. This dining table was so much fun to create and has become one of my most recognized photos worldwide as it has appeared in multiple publications.

I first started by searching high and low for just the right door. That's right a door. I found this amazing one that was salvaged from a demolished building in Belgium. it was a bit short so i would need to add a little over a foot to the bottom to increase the length. Fortunately I have amazing craftsman that work with me so I knew it would be easy.

After the wood extension was created and sufficiently distressed to blend nicely with the worn one hundred year old door. Next the entire door was painted white.

The next step was to build the box. A large wooden table box was built with reinforced steel rods to support the weight over the ten foot span. The door itself with the wrought iron work was well over a hundred pounds. We then set mirror inside the table box as a base to sit the door on top of. I wanted to mirror to reflect the light from the chandelier back out of the box and add glitter and shine to the room. Once the door was in place, set in it's box we capped it to encase it in glass an siliconed the edge to ensure the inside stayed clean always.

The finished result is pretty dramatic and adds interest, depth and luxury to the silver leafed dining room.