ideas on kitchen table top?

twohappycampers

Well-known member
Hi there! I have that black table with a leaf. We always use the table with the leaf in place because we like the bigger table area it gives us. I don't much care for the black, it shows every crumb and mark. And I'm always having to clean crumbs & gunk from the cracks and below. And placemats don't quite cut it because they don't cover the entire top.

My idea is this: buy some kind of rigid board or something, something nice looking and durable, cut it to the exact size of the table top and presto! change-o! black is covered and cracks are covered. What do you think? Can you think of something that could be used for that? Fairly lightweight, pretty, durable, easy to cut to size, easy to clean, rigid so it won't curl, etc. etc. Don't like tablecloths.

Or any other ideas you've used? Thanks! Lorna
 

rick_debbie_gallant

Well-known member
Well here is an idea: get a nice fancy lace tablecloth. also get a piece of the clear heavy duty acetate. enough to fit the table with the leaf in. first put the fancy lace table cloth down and then put the clear plastic acetate over it and the table. Presto, cleano. you now have a cool looking table that you can clean with ease. If you like you can put a piece of fabric of your choice onder the lace and then cover the plastic. We did that with our dining room table at home and in the 5er and it works great!
 

twohappycampers

Well-known member
Sounds like a good idea, thanks! When you say acetate, is it the same as acrylic? Where would I shop for it? The tabletop is straight on the end by the window and curved at the opposite end, so I'd want it to be something I could cut to the curve myself.

I'm dying to re-foam and re-upholster the kitchen chairs too. What I'd really like to do is buy a new set of table and chairs, but I don't think that's going to happen for a little while - not if Doug has anything to say about it :D Once I tally up the cost of foam (our bottoms hit bottom with the current ones :eek: ), the cost of fabric to cover them, the cost of the acrylic for the top or whatever, etc. maybe I'll find there's not much difference in price. Maybe find something secondhand and quality. That is, if I could find something with the right dimensions for the space - now therein lies the challenge!

Okeydokey, rambling again .... Take good care, Lorna :)
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
You can find acrylic sheet in different sizes and thicknesses at Home Depot or Lowe's. For your purposes, something in the 1/8" thickness or less should be sufficiently easy to cut to the curve. I'd recommend getting the cutting tool made for acrylic, as well. A utility knive doesn't quite do it and the tool is inexpensive. Cutting the curve may be tricky, but if you do it in small sections, it might not be that hard. Scribe the full curve, then run cuts away from the curve to remove the sections. If you force the cut on acrylic, it tends to crack. A light sanding of the edges on an angle will remove any burrs. You might want to put some small pieces of pliable tacky stuff between the sheet and the tablecloth to keep it from sliding all over.
 

twohappycampers

Well-known member
You can find acrylic sheet in different sizes and thicknesses at Home Depot or Lowe's. For your purposes, something in the 1/8" thickness or less should be sufficiently easy to cut to the curve. I'd recommend getting the cutting tool made for acrylic, as well. A utility knive doesn't quite do it and the tool is inexpensive. Cutting the curve may be tricky, but if you do it in small sections, it might not be that hard. Scribe the full curve, then run cuts away from the curve to remove the sections. If you force the cut on acrylic, it tends to crack. A light sanding of the edges on an angle will remove any burrs. You might want to put some small pieces of pliable tacky stuff between the sheet and the tablecloth to keep it from sliding all over.

Thanks bunches, John. You explain things very clearly and are very thorough, and it's much appreciated. Take good care - Lorna
 

twohappycampers

Well-known member
The stuff I am talking about is soft and can be rolled up. I does not shift around to much. It is the stuff they use on boats. Sorry I did not include a link before. I think you will like it. I am going to use the same stuff for storm windows on my screen door rather than the hard stuff.
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?CATID=cat3081&PRODID=prd14854

That looks very interesting! And I was also thinking of something for the screen door for the winter. Do you think places like Home Depot would carry something similar? Where have you seen it other than the website?
 

rick_debbie_gallant

Well-known member
Any fabric store. some big box home improvement stores and walmart Joann stores.

Trying to decide if I want to use velcro for attachment or snap fasteners for the door. Heck could even attach to table with some sort of fastener underneath. The ideas are endless with the stuff and velcro. I like the fact that is heat resistant, though how resistant I dont know.
 

twohappycampers

Well-known member
Any fabric store. some big box home improvement stores and walmart Joann stores.

Trying to decide if I want to use velcro for attachment or snap fasteners for the door. Heck could even attach to table with some sort of fastener underneath. The ideas are endless with the stuff and velcro. I like the fact that is heat resistant, though how resistant I dont know.

The illustration shows it being used to protect the walls next to the stove, hmmmm. I'll have to check that stuff out.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
That's a color of a different horse. If I were to use a material like that, I think I'd go with velcro. That allows for some adjustment that snaps won't, should it be cut slightly off. And snaps require drilling into something to hold the stud portion.
 

rick_debbie_gallant

Well-known member
yup, going to use velcro. Might even try that on my walls at home around the toilet. Dang grandkids cant hit the hole in front of them. This will be easy to clean.
 
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