The top of a table often shows wear long before the rest of the piece. Beverly DeJulio, host of HGTV's Homewise With Beverly DeJulio, demonstrates a simple and practical way to extend the life of a table by covering an unsightly top with canvas. Canvas provides a durable, waterproof topper for a table. You'll have no worries about setting a drink on this table. Find attractive patterned or colored canvas at businesses that make window awnings and boat covers. Materials:
New plywood top (if necessary)
Canvas
Scissors
Staple gun and staples
Decorative upholstery tacks
Needle-nose pliers
Tack hammer with padded top
Awl (if necessary)
Screws
Screwdriver
- Remove the tabletop from the table. If the tabletop is beyond repair, use it as a template for a new plywood top. Have the plywood cut to size at a lumberyard or home-improvement center or cut it yourself with a jigsaw or a circular saw.
- Measure the length and width of the tabletop. Add a measurement equal to three times the thickness of the tabletop to each side of the canvas, and cut to size.
- Place the canvas face down on your work surface, and center the tabletop, face down, on top. Finish the raw edge of the canvas by folding and creasing a narrow hem (about 1/3 the total hem length) on each side of the canvas. Staple the canvas to the underside of the tabletop, beginning in the middle of one side. Continue stapling to within 3" of each corner, then smooth the fabric underneath, pull taut, and begin stapling the opposite side (figure A). Staple the other two sides the same way. To make smooth corners, pull the corner point of fabric toward the center of the tabletop, then fold each side over and staple.
- Center the base of the table on the tabletop (figure B), and reattach it to the top. If you're attaching a new plywood top, use an awl to make pilot holes through the holes used to attach the original tabletop, then screw the top onto the base.
- Flip the table right side up, and add upholstery tacks along the vertical edge of the new canvas-covered tabletop. Hold each tack in place with needle-nose pliers, and pad the head of the tack hammer to avoid damaging the tacks.
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