I always encourage my design clients to invest their bucks in the big ticket items. You know… sofas, armchairs, dining chairs (basically anything your butt is going to touch!). But with the smaller items like side tables, it’s often nice to cut back and grab these pieces on-the-cheap. Although truth be told, cheap items can come back to bite you on the behind (more on that in a moment).
Today’s post combines my love of a bargain with my increasing interest in furniture hacks. As part of my work on Changing Rooms (coming soon to your TV screens – see more here) I had to do a stack of DIY. And what I realised about myself is this: I might be crap at major DIY (do not let me near a saw of any kind), but smaller furniture hacks I’m actually pretty crafty at. So today’s Kmart furniture hack has my name written all over it.
This entire project comes from one of my fave TLC readers Holly Moetara. She shared it in the TLC private Facebook group (which you should join here) and I knew right away that I had to show it to you. This lady is the queen of trades. She’s an absolute gun at DIY and the room transformations over on her Instagram page, The Tradie Lady Creative, and outta-this-world! So a huge thanks to Holly for walking us all through this very easy DIY.
Let’s get into it so you can do this one yourself at home!
How to Pull off this Easy Kmart Side Table Hack
First Let’s Discuss the Kmart Marble Side Table
As I said above, I love a bargain. I will definitely cut back where I can for design clients (and in my own home). But often, cheap furniture comes with the added bonus of it not lasting long. I get it, you probably get it. Perhaps you don’t expect a $29 side table to last forever. But we’ve all seen the photos online of these tables arriving with breakages before you even get them outta the box. A reminder that sometimes you just have to invest more money in quality pieces, right?!
This exact scenario happened to me just this week. I was doing a shoot with RealEstate.com.au and we sourced two of the side tables you see above to use pushed together as a coffee table. One had two major cracks in it the moment it was opened. It’s not cute. Kmart: I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.
If this breakage has happened to you, it’s actually kind of a bonus for this Kmart furniture hack, because you have to take the top off the table anyway! So let’s turn that frown upside down. And if you don’t already have one of these tables, revel in the fact that they only cost $29. And wait to you see how expensive you can make it look!
Your Quick Kmart Furniture Hack Tutorial
Below the divine Holly will talk us through how she went about carrying out this Kmart side table hack. But first I’ll link you to products you can use to carry out this DIY yourself at home. Outside of the marble side table, which you know to get from Kmart, all of the other supplies can be picked up from Bunnings or your local hardware store. Too easy!
You’ll Need:
- Kmart black marble side table (shop it here)
- Timber (try this piece from Bunnings – get them to cut it to size)
- Cabots Cabothane Clear Matt Varnish (grab that at Bunnings too)
- Liquid Nails (also available at, you guess it, Bunnings!)
- Hammer, chisel, sandpaper, brush for varnish
How to Do It:
- To lift the marble off, use a chisel and hammer. Very gently tap around the outside edge, ever-so-slowly lifting the top off. Be careful not to bend or scratch the frame as you’ll need it for the new tabletop.
- Once the old top has been removed, use the marble as a template for your new piece of timber. Place the marble on the timber and trace around it with a pencil.
- Cut the new table top. Here Holly used oak she had from leftover project scraps. Skip this step if the team at Bunnings can cut the table top to size for you (far easier and less tools required).
- Give the timber top a good light sand using 180 or 220 sandpaper, then brush on a water-based clear polyurethane varnish (see note below re this step).
- Sand again after the varnish has set, getting it as smooth as possible for a nice finish. Coat two more times.
- Wait to dry then glue to the top of the frame using liquid nails
NOTE: If the piece of timber you get from Bunnings is already varnished or laminated, you won’t need to carry out steps 2, 3, 4 or 5. Just go ahead and liquid nail the new top on!
Scroll down to see how good the Kmart side table hack turned out in Holly’s bedroom…
Get a Load of the Result!
As you can see from the after photos in this post, Holly has done an awesome job with this Kmart side table hack. What started off as a run-of-the-mill side table (sometimes with cracks in it) has now become a chic Scandi-inspired bedside table.
The even better news is how little it cost you. A similar table from Globewest (the Lennox), retails for almost $600! And this Kmart side table hack will cost you a fraction of that – especially if you already have a lot of the tools in your garage or shed.
If you’re keen to check out other DIY’s from me and other TLC readers who are just as talented as Holly is, click here to explore my Crafts and DIY category.
Also please drop me a comment below if you’ve done an awesome DIY and wish to share it. Would be great to see what magic you’ve worked!
