Booth seating on a shoestring

Materials: Faktum, Meltorp

Description: Having moved to a new home I was faced with the problem of it being very small. We had only a 3x4m living room and a very small 3m x 1.9m kitchen. In our living room we had no space for a full sized dining table or large sofa suite. So this is what I did do overcome our problem.

We had been given a Meltorp table when we purchased some folding chairs off the local classified ads. When we brought it to our new house we could not accommodate the table or the chairs as there just wasn't enough space. We was going to chuck the table until one day I had a great idea.

I built a bench seat in an alcove in the living room using 4 Faktum 35cm fan units. I purchased just the frame without the doors because I was going to make my own sliding doors using the backs of the frame and some cheap plastic vivarium runners.

For the bench seat we used Ikea Iris seat pads until we can afford to get a custom made cushion to go on top of the seats. Ihe Iris pads fit perfectly on top of the units.

I have added strength to the units by added some vertical 1x2 in the middle of the units and have tested them with 18 stone mates. I would have used the deeper 60cm overfridge units but my alcove was 37cm so that's why I went with the 35cm fan units. The size is perfect and is a joy to have lunch, breakfast on.

For the table I had to take the legs off the Meltorp table and make a custom center post to make it easier to get in and out of the booth. I have made a secret shelf on the post for condiments such as ketchup and hot sauce. I then clad the post with contiboard. I think the table looks pretty good and looks very expensive designer table cost me about �15 because I got the Meltorp free.

Here is a rough cost of materials of the bench and table

4 x faktum fan units �44
2x base frame studwork 89MM x 38mm �8
sliding vivarium runners �5
381mm top panel contiboard
7x iris seat pads �3 each

Table
Meltorp table (free) or �28 from ikea
offcuts of timber from house renovation

~ Abdul Manik, East London

Beachside Melltorp

Materials: Melltorp Dining Table and solid timber recycled door

Description: In our very first apartment, we lived in a tiny one bedroom unit which you could not swing a cat in. Although I was not blown away the Melltorp table, it was clean, small and fit the space.

Since we moved to our much bigger apartment by the sea, the tiny Melltorp simply did not cut it. I love recycled building materials and there is a warehouse near me which I spend hours in, just looking around. One day I came across this dusty, old, very heavy, white lead painted door. I instantly thought this would be an awesome table top for our new apartment.

A quick measurement of the Melltorps frame and the door itself, I purchased it that day. I took it home to the garage and spent the next couple of days sanding it back to clean it up and expose some of the timber, then a coat of Matt Poly Lacquer.

The assembly itself was quite easy. The Melltorp table top is held onto the frame by 8 screws, with plastic spacers between the frame and the table top. It was as easy as taking the old top off, centering the door and screwing it on! I kept the spacers as I quite liked the gap that was left between the door and frame, as if it were floating. Another 2 chairs to purchase and it has gone from a small four seater to a generous 6 seater.

There you have it! My shabby, beachy, Melltorp dining table!

~ Adam Chuck, Sydney, Australia

Vintage Comic Book Studio Workstation/Spaceship

Materials: 2xMelltorp Dining Table, 1xSet Capita Brackets, 1xLack Shelf, 200xVintage comic postcards, 1xSmall tub of varnish, 1xSmall tub of PVC glue, 1xPainbrush,

Description: 1. Assemble your Melltrop tables. In this case I got 2 white tables as they are cheaper than the other finishes.

2. Join the 2 tables together. Flip the tables upside down and put the 2 ends of the table together. It's now time to join your tables together. I used about 12 flat braces all the way along the seam underneath the table to hold it together. I'm not very handy so I didn't do the best job but it's surprisingly solid.

3. Move the centre legs. I unscrewed the 2 legs at the front centre of the table to avoid banging my knees on them and so I can actually sit with my legs under the table. All I did was detach them from the front and move them about 18 inches back under the table and drilled a screw from the top of the desk down into the legs. They are pretty wobbly but as long as you stand them up the hold just fine. Don't worry about the unsightly screws on top of they will be covered by your postcards. I also put one of the flat braces across the front of table where the legs were to strengthen the table.

4. Fun time! Time to paste your comic book covers to the desk! I got 1 pack of 100 Vintage Marvel and 1 pack of 100 Vintage DC comic book covers for about �10 each from Amazon but you could use any postcards. Take a paint brush and a pot of PVC glue and apply a postcard wide strip of glue at one end of the table and start sticking down your postcards. I would leave 1 or 2 mm around each side of the postcard as they tend to expand slightly with the wetness of the glue. Cover the whole of your table and the top of your Lack shelf.

5. Varnish. Give the PVC at least 4 hours to dry. Overnight if possible. Now get a good heavy hardwearing clear varnish and apply a few coats. This takes quite a while to dry between coats. I would say about 12 hours.

6. Attach the Capita Brackets to the Lack shelf. I put one at either side of the shelf but this has turned out to be a problem. The shelf is hollow in parts. The screws I used did not take and the shelf is now coming away from the screws slightly. I may be a good idea to screw a solid flat peice of wood securely onto the bottom side of the shelf and then attach your brackets to that.

7. Attach the Capita brackets. Drill a hole the correct size in the top of the desk and fit your capita brackets as instructed.

8. Done! Enjoy your new comic book table! Be warned. It is quite distracting when you have work to do ;)

Bonus tips!
- Use a good quality varnish and give it as many coats as you can and this will last for ages! I've used this for 9 months and it still looks fresh.

- This table is HUGE! Make sure you measure up before buying the bits.

- Get the white tables if your are on a budget. They are cheaper and look quite cool with the artwork on them. This whole build cost me only �80!

~ Niraj Gohel, Liverpool, UK