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Cutting a Dining Table in Half and Attaching to the Wall to Make Half Table

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My husband gave me this idea of cutting a dining table in half and attaching it to the wall to make a half table.

I found this amazing dining table at the thrift store for a mere–OMG— $24.

Yes, $24.

I know….a steal… It’s heavy, too!

What’s even better is that was exactly what I was looking for!

Because I wanted to cut this dining table in half. 

BEFORE

Cut a Table in Half - Find an old table at the thrift store. - Thrift Diving

AFTER!

 

Cut a Table in Half - Find an old table at the thrift store, cut it in half, and use as a long folding table in the laundry room. - Thrift Diving

 

This is the base cabinet that I had in my laundry room.

Cut a Table in Half - Find an old table at the thrift store, cut it in half. Remove cabinets. - Thrift Diving

 

I removed them (and later turned them into a workstation for my garage) because I want a table in there that I can store laundry baskets underneath.

Usually, our dirty laundry looks like this all over the floor. Although I have a couple laundry baskets, I want something more organized and hidden underneath so that it doesn’t overflow into my line of vision. And it would be nice to walk through without tripping on Lightning McQueen undies. šŸ™‚

BEFORE

Outdated appliances, peel-n-stick floor, & lots of clothing clutter!

 

Afterwards, it was soooo much more organized with laundry baskets under the separated and “cut” table so that the dirty laundry was out of the way.

 

Pretty Laundry Room Makeover - Lavendar - Thrift Diving Blog

 

My husband surprised me when he mentioned that I could “cut a table in half” and prop it up against the wall (how in the heck did he know about that design idea? And why didn’t I think of that??)

I was inspired!

How to Cut a Table in Half

The benefit of cutting a dining table in half is now you’ve got a shorter table. Those two shorter dining table pieces can now be attached to the wall to create a shorter table. It saves space. These half tables are perfect smaller homes that don’t have enough room for a large dining table, or maybe you want to create a countertop-style place for kids to eat. These half tables, when attached side by side, create long space-saving solutions for laundry rooms. Now you’ve got space to store laundry baskets underneath!

It’s really easy to create, depending on the type of table you’re wanting to cut in half.

Materials Needed

(Note: I participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites).

STEP 1: Find Out if You Really Need to Cut It or Simply Unscrew It

Luckily, this table I bought is one of those tables that separates in the middle where a leaf is supposed to go. So, I wouldn’t need to cut this table in half. I would only need to remove the bolts that are holding it together!

Cut a table in half to create a longer table mounted to the wall. - Thrift Diving

 

But if your table needs to be cut in half, you could probably use a jigsaw or a circular saw.

Cutting a table in half, you’d need to make sure that the table is properly supported and that the blade is lowered or adjusted deep enough to safely cut the table in half.

If you’re a total newbie, I would ask someone who has power tool experience to do it for you.

 

Cut a table in with a circular saw or a jigsaw - Thrift Diving

 

STEP 2: Loosen the Screws Underneath the Table

Thankfully, my table only needed to have the screws loosened underneath the table and the ends pulled apart for the table halves to come free from each other.

 

How to cut a table in half - Loosen the screws under the table if it's a table with a center leaf. - Thrift Diving

 

Once separated, there should be two halves of the separated or cut table, each with just two legs on one side.

 

How to cut a table in half - Pull apart the two sides of the cut table. - Thrift Diving

STEP 3: Add L-Brackets to the Cut Side

These corner L-brackets are what is going to hold the separated or cut table pieces to the wall.

 

How to cut a table in half - Add corner L brackets to the table halves. - Thrift Diving

 

The size you use will depend on the size of the table and the load the table will bear.

My recommendation would be to secure brackets into studs in the wall if possible, but if not possible, then use wall anchors. Again, this depends on load the table will bear.

 

How to cut a table in half - Add corner L brackets to the table halves in the back in order to mount to a wall. - Thrift Diving

STEP 4: Prop Up the Table and Paint It

This is probably easier to do when the table is whole, before separating or cutting it. šŸ™‚

In my case, I waited until the table was already cut in half, which probably wasn’t the smartest thing because then I had to find a way to prop up the table while I painted and stenciled it.

But I didn’t want the finish to get ruined on the table, so for me, it was easier to do it this way.

 

How to cut a table in half - Hold the table together while painting and stenciling. - Thrift Diving

 

Using my favorite floral stencil, I stenciled over the painted table. I had used Annie Sloan Paris Gray chalk paint.

 

How to cut a table in half - Use a decorative floral stencil to paint the table. - Thrift Diving

 

It looked gorgeous!

How to cut a table in half - Paris Gray table with white stenciling. - Thrift Diving

Related Read: What’s the Best Paint for Furniture?

Watch This Project in Action: How to Stencil on Furniture

Here’s a video on my YouTube channel showing you how I stenciled on this table that I separated or cut in two.

 

STEP 5: Wax the Table to Protect the Paint

The last step is to add a coat of clear furniture wax over the paint to protect it.

The table will fully cure in about 2 weeks while the clear wax dries, so just be careful with your freshly painted table that you just separated or cut in half and stenciled.

How to cut a table in half - Paris Gray table with white stenciling in a laundry room. - Thrift Diving

 

Did you find this tutorial helpful? Click here to SAVE it.

How to cut a table in half - Step by step instructions on how to separate or cut a table and mount it to a wall. - Thrift Diving

So have you ever separated or cut a table in half? What purpose did you have for the table? Leave a comment and let’s chat about it!

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30 Comments

  1. Iā€™m wanting to cut my 40×60 table in half lengthwise, hoping these instructions would work for me?

  2. Heather N. Nates says:

    Hi Serena,
    You just solved a huge problem for me. I am going to purchase a rectangular dining room table with a split in the middle and create the one you did for your laundry room. I will then have my ” sewing table” and “added work space” on the opposite wall to my extra large computer / printer (painted hollow door on rolling file cabinets. The room is coming along great including my gallery wall. I also finished a small wall with sign HAT BOX FUN….hung 3 large hat boxes and separate lids , my my they look awesome. I really laughed out loud when I read what you said about your husband …when you bring stuff home, mine is the same. Hang in there my Dear.

    Heather / Canada

  3. Hi Serena! This is such an awesome idea! I love how it turned out šŸ™‚

  4. Laura Marino says:

    How did you mount the cut table to the wall? I turned out great!

    1. L brackets. She mentioned it in the instructions.

  5. i love what you did with the tables….tho i am wondering how you installed the dining table on the wall like that (once cut in half). i am looking to make a desk and that would work perfect!

  6. Wow Serena! Although I’m not participating (avoiding commitment šŸ™‚ ) I’m folowing you from Israel and inspired by you, began to work on my own laundry room. Thank you so much for a great blog!

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