Last weekend The Husband and I were having our coffee-time and somehow we ended up talking about rebar and wood slices. I suspect that topic of conversation isn’t the norm, but give The Husband and I a pot of coffee and an hour of before-sunrise time on the porch and you wouldn’t believe all the mischief we can come up with!
By the time we’d finished our third cuppa we’d come up with a plan for these rustic wood pedestals!
I’m in pre-planning mode for our big Family-Fall-Party and I’ve been thinking about rustic risers, or pedestals for the table…
This couldn’t be simpler. All ya need is a slice of wood from a tree stump. (We got our stump at a lumber store Peachstate Lumber (a great Distribution Yard of Furniture Grade Hardwoods, Softwoods and plywood), but you could easily get a tree stump from a firewood or tree service.)
Here’s the 411!
DIY Rustic Wood Pedestal
For the medium pedestal(*the stump we were working with is 9″ in diameter) you need 4 pieces of 1/2″ rebar, 7″ long. I got mine at The Home Depot in the cement aisle, it was cut in 2 foot pieces which is manageable 🙂
(Cut the rebar with a jigsaw using a metal cutting blade or a hack saw)
Our tree stump is 9 inches around. Make 4 marks equally spaced- about 1 & 1/2 inches from the edge.
With a 1/2″ drill bit, drill holes at a 45% angle in the direction of the arrows..
We inserted the rebar to make sue it fit without hammering it all the way in, while it was temporarily in, The Husband used a grinder to round off the sharp edges. You can use a metal file if you don’t have a grinder!
After we filed down the ends of the rebar and removed it from the wood, I sanded the slab, rounding the edges and smoothing out the top and bottom. Then I treated the wood with food safe mineral oil, like you’d use on cutting boards…
***
For the legs you could leave the rebar just as it is and have a wonderful industrial-chic look, but I love combining something shiny with something rustic. Using opposites in decorating and design gives a bit of a wow-factor.
I used a Krylon Gold Foil Metallic spray paint to paint over the rebar and it worked wonders!
When the paint dried we reinserted the rebar and used a dab of wood glue in the holes, hammering the individual legs to get the pedestal level.
A little of the paint came off while we were putting the legs in the holes, I just sprayed some paint on a cloth and touched up those places…
We made three pedestals with different size legs, so I’d be able to use them together,because you know; three is a magic number when you’re decorating most anything.
The rebar has such a wonderful texture and the gold against rustic wood is kinda wonderful I think…
We used walnut and it’s so beautiful…
I love the rustic color and character of this wood…
I’ll use these rustic pedestals for parties…
And for decorating…
I’m tickled with the way they turned out!
~Sending you love today my sweet friends~
xo
*We’re looking for some clear tiny rubber feet for the legs…anybody know where we could find them!?
Linking with DIY Showoff!
Cindy Eikenberg says
July 22, 2013 at 7:14 amI LOVE these so much! What a wonderful idea and they look just fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing this great project – pinning! Have a happy Monday and a great week!
Robin says
July 22, 2013 at 10:53 amCindy, thank you sweetie! You’re always such an encouragement, I appreciate it! 🙂 Happy Monday to you too my friend xo
Spence says
July 22, 2013 at 7:32 amYou need to coat the legs with some clear mat laquer–the kind that doesn’t yelllow. No more paint will come off, unless you want it too..:)
Robin says
July 22, 2013 at 10:52 amSpence, GREAT idea! No, I really want this paint to stay on!!! Love the idea & I have some spray on top coat that would be perfect! xo
Julia @ Cuckoo4Design says
July 22, 2013 at 7:54 amSo cool! I think they are one of my favorite projects of yours now! I wish my hubby would sit with me and think about projects that we could do, but that is so not going to happen EVER! 😉
Robin says
July 22, 2013 at 10:51 amJulia, well thank you HOney!!! I love your eye for design so it means a lot that you like this project! (and never say never… 🙂 ) xoxo
[email protected] says
July 22, 2013 at 8:05 amGreat idea! A perfect solution. I’m going to have to try that paint!
Robin says
July 22, 2013 at 10:50 amKaren, that paint is amazing, NO kidding! I’m already using it for another project! Let me know when you give it a try, I’d love to see what you do! xo
Leslie says
July 22, 2013 at 8:11 amI saw this pin first thing this morning on Pinterest and had to see the DIY. I’m going to follow you on Pinterest so I can get all the latest beauties from your home. 😉 I LOVE this idea. I’m not quite as handy but have great aspirations and *think* I can do it. After all, believing in yourself is half the battle, right? LOL I’m pinning this to my “wood” board where I have lots of scrap and wood stump ideas and into my “craft/diy” board. I really want one (or two or three!!). 🙂
Robin says
July 22, 2013 at 10:50 amLeslie, I’m so happy to meet you! Thank you for your encouraging words… and yes! I think believing you can do something is def. half the battle 🙂 sending love my new friend xo
[email protected] Designs says
July 22, 2013 at 8:21 amHow beautiful and creative!…Such a unique and clever design! Love it!
Angela says
July 22, 2013 at 9:06 amI absolutely love these! Perfect for outside parties and for fall decorating! You are so talented (and hubby too)!!~~Angela
Robin says
July 22, 2013 at 10:48 amThank you Ang! xo
Chris says
July 22, 2013 at 9:54 amThose are darling! Great ideas come from two heads put together and a pot of coffee……:-)
Robin says
July 22, 2013 at 10:48 amChris, isn’t it amazing what a little caffeine can do!!!? xo
Pinky says
July 22, 2013 at 3:55 pmOh Robin, I love, LOVE them!!!! I am always looking for some kind of pedestals. I am going to show Joe and maybe he can make some for me. Thanks for the 411. I know you will have tons of uses for them!!! XO
Vicky says
July 22, 2013 at 5:06 pmYou never cease to amaze me! Tiny perfection- each one of them- rustic and yet so classic looking- timeless in a way. Love them!
Robin says
July 23, 2013 at 6:37 amthank you my sweet friend Vicky xo
Cori says
July 22, 2013 at 11:13 pmThese are just really cute, what a great idea! These would also be great for a rustic wedding!
Here is a link to some clear adhesive rubber feet that may work. They are 1/3 of an inch, so I think they would fit. (The link is from my a-store, just so ya know) http://astore.amazon.com/flyccre-20/detail/B001JASGH4. Love Amazon!
Robin says
July 23, 2013 at 6:36 amCory, you are so sweet to give me a link for those little feet!!! Thank you xo (and these would be beautiful on a table at a rustic wedding!)
Amy Renea says
July 23, 2013 at 8:59 amSO adorable! I love them!
Milita says
July 23, 2013 at 10:57 amThose are so adorable! They would be amazing in a large version for end tables too!
Becca says
July 23, 2013 at 1:19 pmI adore these little guys- that Walnut is beautiful!! Great job!
xo Becca
Julie Garmon says
July 25, 2013 at 4:19 pmDon’t know how I missed this post! The mystery of rebar. I don’t think I’ve ever used that word in a sentence until now.
Can not wait to show this to Ricky. I believe we have a grinder and a file, but I’ll double-check.
Just precious. Absolutely precious.
Theresa @DearCreatives says
July 30, 2013 at 12:22 pmI love them as cake stands. I hope I can manage to get someone handy to make me some. Thanks for sharing how.
Robin says
July 30, 2013 at 7:48 pmTheresa, I’m so glad you like them!!! xo
Jen H says
July 30, 2013 at 3:07 pmYou could dip the legs into that Plasti Dip stuff. (liquid that dries into nice rubber coating)
Robin says
July 30, 2013 at 7:46 pmJen, I’ll look into that! Great idea! xo
Kim @ Sand & Sisal says
August 5, 2013 at 7:44 pmYou are simply amazing my friend! I’m sitting here in awe and slapping my forehead…like…duh!!!! These pedestals are gorgeous! I’ll be pinning them to the Better Homes & Gardens Boards that I belong to. Bravo!!! Can’t wait to try!
Robin says
August 8, 2013 at 9:04 pmKim, thank you so much! I really appreciate you pinning to that great big board sweet friend xo
Debra says
September 18, 2013 at 7:50 pmWow! These are gorgeous. I will definitely have to give this a try if I can find some good wood rounds. Thank you so much for sharing.
Robin says
September 19, 2013 at 10:08 amDebra, I’m so glad you like them! Let me know if you give them a try! xo
Rita May says
September 20, 2013 at 3:13 pmI found this post just in the nick of time!! Today we are pulling rebar out of our yard from a fence project and my husband was planning on throwing it all away unless I came up with a good reason to reuse rebar. I’ll be sure to show him the cutting/display boards. Pinned it too. I thank you but not so sure about my husband!
Rita
Robin says
September 20, 2013 at 4:40 pmRita, I love it!!! Perfect use for some of that rebar!!! xo
Eileen says
October 2, 2013 at 9:08 amYou should be tickled; they are adorable. You and hubby did a good job. Just clever!!!
Robin says
October 2, 2013 at 7:37 pmEileen, thank you friend xo
Jordan says
December 20, 2014 at 6:13 pmHello,
I really like the design of your wood platters.
I have tried to make a similar design but the wood always ends up cracking after a week or so after cutting it.
What do you do to prevent the cracking?
Thanks,
Jordan
Robin says
December 21, 2014 at 6:30 pmJordan, it might crack because the wood isn’t completely dry. Or perhaps there is a drastic change in temperature. Good luck with your projects Jordan~