Make Your Own Entryway Table for $15

I think my husband and I are like most people in that, upon entering our house, we need a place to set things down. And, six months out of the year, our entryway floor is covered with melting snow, sand, and salt—in short, not a good place to set things down.

We can't afford, at this point in time, to replace our ancient kitchen table and the accompanying chairs that are ready to fall apart, let alone purchase a more "frivolous" piece of furniture. Since a new table for our entryway was out of our budget also, I decided to get creative in my creation.

A few summers ago, we found a wooden headboard for a full-size bed. We purchased it for $10, knowing that some day we wanted to put a bed in our guest room (when our budget permitted); it sat unattended for nearly two years in our garage. We have since put together our guest room (for mere pennies!—but I'll save that for a later post) but used a different headboard, so we still had a giant chunk of wood taking up space in our garage.

I resurrected this headboard and used a coat of Rustoleum black paint (it is my favorite, as you can use the same type of paint for anything, thereby saving money by not having to purchase different types of paint); no sanding was necessary, and a cursory clean up with a rag and some Windex removed all dust and cobwebs. Once dry, we moved it indoors, and added two screws to brace it into the wall (some headboards will be sturdy enough to stand alone).

Covered with personal photos, some dried flowers, and a reed diffuser (all of which we had), our table was finished.

We now have the perfect place to set mail, coffee mugs, and mittens upon entering our house, and shoes line up neatly underneath.

To make your own table for your home's entryway:

Items needed:

• Wooden headboard for a full-sized bed (these can be found for cheap at garage sales, rummage sales, thrift stores, and often at the curb waiting for the garbage man). Price we paid: $10
• Paint of your color and brand choice (again, I recommend Rustoleum, as it coats well with only one coat and is very multi-purpose). Price we paid: $5 (plus tax)
• Personal items for decoration, being sure to leave some space to use the table as intended. Price we paid: $0.

Total cost for our "new" entryway table: just over $15. We use it every day, and I think it turned out beautifully.