After a summer of scraping, sanding and wire-wooling, I was looking at a repaired, revived and restored chunk of carved walnut. It was starting to look like a table, so that’s the direction I took.

I hunted around for feet that would replace the original ones I couldn’t replicate. In the end I settled for good old wooden drawer knobs. I removed the old feet, screwed in the knobs and waited for inspiration.

Deciding on a glass top was a no-brainer. It had to be the right size, though, not overhanging the carving too much, tough enough to withstand accidents – and at the right price.

G-Plan Table with the perfect glass top

An old G-Plan coffee table provided the answer. I saw the classified ad in the local paper – and snapped it up.

The piece of toughened glass was an ideal fit for the ‘profile’ and it already had a lovely smooth edge, so I removed it and set it aside to await the next stage. (Of course, the original G-Plan table is now considered vintage and I regret having had to ditch it but my obsession made me ruthless…)

The final challenge of the transformation faced me. I could hardly just balance the glass on top of the table and leave it at that. It needed some kind of support…

…Visit us again next week for the last part of this mini-series – the final result of this vintage table restoration is beautiful.

Madeleine is a Managing Partner of Text Engineering, a writing and editing service for individuals and small businesses…and a Vintage DIY enthusiast!