For my main project, I plan on creating a table that is able to double as a coffee table and extend into a taller, dinner/game table height via extending legs. I am hoping to create a unique piece that is both aesthetically pleasing by creating an artistic table top as the eye-drawing center, and is also functional in that it doubles as a coffee table and a dinner/game table.
I plan on creating a resin table top, which I think will determine the main aesthetic of the table. This aspect of the table is where I will explore multiple aesthetics. I am considering a few different artistic directions with the resin table top; swirled multicolored epoxy or a sort of collage set in epoxy.
The first idea is the swirled multi colored table top. There are two sort of sub-ideas that I have with this. The first is that I’m considering an acrylic pour set in resin. I’ve seen this done a lot before, where people mix different colors and pour it sort of randomly so it creates a colorful swirl. I think this would create a really bright, interesting aesthetic, that evokes a very positive feeling. The only thing I am worried about with this design is that it may be a bit too busy; that a statement piece like that would not look great in my living room because it sort of has too much going on. For colors, I think I would go with purples, blues, and black. The second sort of sub idea with this is to take distressed wood and do the acrylic pour just in the rough cavities of the wood. I think that this would definitely solve that potential issue of the piece being too busy, but in the end it could also not look that interesting. I did however see a version of this table (shown in photo below) where someone put glow in the dark powder in the resin, which could also be really cool.
The second aesthetic idea that I have is to go with some sort of collage set in resin. I think that this is a pretty cool idea because you could set essentially anything in resin, whether that be like magazine pages, old photos, or collected upcycled items. I think this could be a really interesting way to incorporate some of my different interests; as I could do like old pop culture photos or pages from climbing magazines or something. Again, I do have some concerns that this might turn out messy though.
For both of the artistic directions with the table top, I am also thinking about incorporating lights, I am still interested in incorporating the fiber optic cable lights that I discussed working into my final project in my last blog post. Either that, or doing LED’s like on the underside of the table. It would be really interesting to see if I could set lights into the resin or have them shine through to create a glowing effect.
Photo 1 – my own image
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[…] I did a lot of research on different types of acrylic and epoxy resin pour table tops. Since my last post, I decided to steer away from an acrylic pour because while it creates some really beautiful […]
Hey Maya,
This is an interesting idea. I have never been a huge fan of the crazy colored resins people often put into pieces of furniture like this because, like you said, it looks too busy. I think it would be really cool if you did the large wood slab idea, but with earth tones that complement the natural beauty of the wood.
I am quite curious about how you plan on making the rising/lowering mechanism. I had considered making a convertible standing/sitting desk for my room a couple years ago, and found that to be a bit of a challenge. I think the two main methods are motors and physical locking mechanisms that require you to manually lift the table. Do you have plans for this yet?
Also, for the lights, I have heard that LEDs set inside resin get hotter than is recommended and therefore burn out faster. This is something to consider since they will be apart of the table forever if you do that. I would probably put them on the bottom if I were to make this.
Hey James,
This is all super helpful feedback. I agree with you on the tabletop that the acrylic pour may be too busy, I am going to go with the rough cut wood with fill ins. And for the rising/lowering mechanism, I plan on doing something manual- something similar to how like crutches or a pop up tent legs lengthen. As for the LED’s, I plan on lining the bottom of the tabletop with LED’s rather than setting them in resin, I think this will still look nice and avoid the potential problems that you brought up.
Hi Maya, I think your project will look great if you end up doing any of the design ideas that you shared in this post. I personally really like the glow in the dark powder idea and I think your table will look super cool if you choose to incorporate that into your project. I’m excited to see what your final product will end up looking like!
Hi Thuc,
Thanks for the comment! I am also hoping that the glow power will turn out well for the final product, definitely creates a unique look that will be good for the game table function of the piece.