furniture to fit your needs

Years ago I bought these unique and gorgeous end tables from a storage unit sale.  The bottom of the table is a huge, heavy iron tree branch and the top a beautiful piece of black marble.  I saw them and instantly fell in love and had to have them.  As fabulous as they were to look at, they weren't super functional as the top was only 12" in diameter, and because of the marble, the table was incredibly top heavy and fell over easily. 

After living with these tables in my family room for about 18 months, I decided that they needed to be replaced with something a little more useful in this particular room.  But, I was so in love with them, I just couldn't bear the thought of getting rid of them.  So, I had to come up with something different. 

I was at Home Depot buying some lawn fertilizer the other afternoon and found myself in the wood section.  I honestly don't know how I ended up there.  It's like my internal compass just sets this section as it's favorite destination.  So, while I was wondering the wood aisle, I looked over and saw the pre-cut wooden cirlces.  And they just happened to be 24" inches in diameter, and thick enough to make a lovely new table top.

THAT's IT!! I had to have these wood cirlces and could use them to replace the table tops on my favorite end tables of all time and I wouldn't have to get rid of them after all. 

So, I took them home and removed the old marble table top, and put these new ones on.  Then I headed out to the garage and stained them with an ebony colored wood stain.

I loved the knots in the wood on top of the table surface.  It made it look so much more "tree" like and went perfectly with the base of the table. 

And once they dried, they were moved back into my house and ready to be used.  Although I replaced marble with wood which is a bit of a downgrade, I think, these tables are now more stable and definitely more usable. And quite honestly, from a distance, they look just as stunning. 

Perhaps in your own homes, you have furniture items that you wish were more useful.  With a little creative thought, perhaps you can find a way to revamp it and make it  piece of furniture that you can use and enjoy.