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I could really use some help. I'm building craft and cutting tables from IKEA kitchen base cabinets. I love the cabinets and all the storage they provide but I'm stuck on what type of table top to get. It's a large area - 39"x 98" for the craft table and 24"x 72" for the cutting table. I really don't want wood, mostly because of the look I'm going for (turquoise walls with white cabinets and trim.) I would like something that looks like white marble (white with black or gray swirls.) I'm afraid of the weight of granite but not sure something like Corian or Laminate will clean up well. I would love to hear what others are using for table tops.
What are you using? What do you like about it? What do you dislike? Can it take the heat from a heat gun without getting brown spots? What about when you get the dreaded ink stain when you miss the scratch paper? Does it clean up well? I would love to see photos!
Thank you all for your help!
__________________ Jill A. Lost 47 pounds since 09/2006 on WW! 74.4 to go! Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!
Corian is a great material but probably not the best for a craft room. You're not supposed to put it in direct contact with anything superheated and it does like to pick up some types of stains. I've never gotten ink on our Corian kitchen countertops but the built in sinks do like to pick up yellow/orange tones from tomato based sauces. Nothing a little bleach won't fix, but it isn't ink impermeable. I seem to remember wet newspaper also transferred ink to it but wasn't hard to get off.
All our craft tables downstairs are repurposed laboratory surfaces. Pretty much chemical, heat, ink and glue-proof. Can be cut/gouged if you rake them hard with a box cutter or other sharp implement. Made from epoxy resin I believe? Very durable, but I'm not sure if they come in the colour you want.
Thanks Embri! This is great information! It's not that I mind cleaning the surface, but everything I've seen involves a LOT of elbow grease. I'm afraid if it's too much work, I just won't do it as often as I should to keep things looking nice. Your lab tables sound wonderful! I wish I could find some in the right size and color.
__________________ Jill A. Lost 47 pounds since 09/2006 on WW! 74.4 to go! Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!
My all-time favorite craft table was a 4' x 8' (48" x 96") sheet of white laminate from Home Depot laying on top of two dressers in the middle of the room. I had to buy iron-on banding to finish the edges, but it cleaned up like a dream and it was a LOT of acreage to work on! They can cut it to size, too. I don't see any reason that you couldn't lay laminate on top of your cabinets. Bonus - when one side got too "used up" to look good, I flipped it over and started anew.
__________________ ~ Sue Happy for no reason...
Last edited by gregzgurl; 08-29-2018 at 08:28 PM..
If you have Habitat for Humanity nearby or another building supply recycling type place, you might be able to drop them a friendly word? I bet they get a lot of suitable surfaces that would make great craft tables given a second lease on utility.
Formica is durable and cleans up well and not very expensive sometimes. Hubby put a sheet of it on a huge work table in his garage and it's a little stained and may have a few cuts in it but considering the extreme wear and tear it's been through in 30 years, it's held up well.
My husband found a piece of regular countertop laminate that was going to be tossed from a new building construction site because it was the not the correct color. He put wood edging on it and I have used it for over 15 years. Laminate comes in sooo many colors. It is easy to clean and I use Pledge on it. It is about 8 ft. long. He also found one for my sister and made hers too. He knows keeping us in our craft lairs is good for us!!!!
My very first craft table was a 2ft. x 3ft. drawing table. No space, no storage. It was all I could afford. It has seen lots of wear and tear. Now I have my own dedicated craft room - DH calls it my "woman cave" and I hate the term - and that table still has a prominent place. I like that it has stains, scribbled notes right on the surface, a few cuts and gouges, and even a cutting pattern or two. To me, the "natural" distressing is artistic; it gives a history of what I have done and how I got to where I am today.
__________________ SilverSnow Lois Malachi 3:10 "See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heavenand pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it"
Wow! This is all great information! Thank you so much! I knew I could count on my crafting companions to help me out.
It sounds like laminate is the way to go. And it's so inexpensive, it won't matter if it gets messed up over time. A friend told me to embrace the ink stains as part of my decor. I like that idea.
Embri, I don't mind being a "dragon" in my "lair". I like that better than SilverSnow's DH's "woman cave". Besides, when I get angry, I do sometimes breathe fire.
__________________ Jill A. Lost 47 pounds since 09/2006 on WW! 74.4 to go! Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!
I purchased a regular kitchen countertop from Home Depot in the 'dented' area. It had a scratch underneath but the top was perfect. I also got my cabinets from there too--same issue. Huge price reduction and looks terrific. I had a friend who is handy put it together for me and I just love it. Literally, the surface is very durable and so far no issues at all! Now, if I could just somehow make the room larger in my apartment.... ;)
__________________ "I have cats, but they don't smoke or associate with dogs...."
pepperann, what type of countertop? Granite? Laminate? Corian? Home Depot sells them all. I was going to get my cabinets from HD, but IKEA had so many more styles. I was able to get a 6 drawer unit for all my adhesives, EPs, colored pencils, etc. I couldn't find anything like that at HD. But, man, I practically had to take a course on how to read IKEA instructions to put them together! Now I understand why so many comedians make jokes about their instructions.
__________________ Jill A. Lost 47 pounds since 09/2006 on WW! 74.4 to go! Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!
'hobby lair' sounds so much better than '____ cave', bleck. We just have the default 'craft room', which has everyone's desks and supplies in it. Man-cave and woman-cave are both awful; spaces and activities don't need specific sexes! (Okay, maybe childbirth is the rare exception ... but nobody takes that up as a leisure activity.)
You can be female and like fixing old cars or male and enjoy paper crafts. Hobbies should be for everyone who wants to do them. But I digress. It's good to embrace the fact that no surface is going to remain absolutely pristine, and provenance via use isn't a bad thing, as long as it doesn't affect functionality. I hope the perfect countertop shows up for you. If you're not in a great hurry, keeping an eye out for returns, dent and ding, or floor samples can make the total cost a lot more palatable.
I bought 2 white doors (not wood, kind of a laminate type door) for my IKEA craft area. LOVE it!
Edited: in trying to find the name and link of the top, I see I referred to it as a countertop and not door. I apologize, I bought these 2 years ago and can't remember the exact name.
I also have a stock laminate piece of countertop I got from Lowes years ago that I screwed on top of some shelve cubes. This is where I do my heat embossing and it does not discolor at all!
I just got kitchen counter top from Menards, can get the color and length you want and its really reasonable. I use base cupboards on the 2 ends and mine is 10 ft long. Works great.
I like aborite myself, but I'm wondering if Stainless Steel might be your answer. It is pretty indestructible. Maybe from a restaurant supply store or you can ask if they can point you to some second hand if there is a remodel going on somewhere. Maybe you can buy sheets of it somewhere.
Craftymomto2, I absolutely will post pictures! If I can decide on my pattern, I'm ready to go down and order a piece of laminate for the cutting table behind the craft table. Cutting meaning where I'll keep my embossing, die cutting and paper cutting supplies. I will finally get them off my work table! I figure that is the smallest piece so if I get it and absolutely hate it, I can get something else for my work table.
stomper, that sounds easy! I've looked at ready made counter tops at Home Depot, but they aren't wide enough. Since I'm building an island with cabinets on both sides, I need it about 42" wide. It seems I have to go custom to get that.
Cre8ive Mind, stainless steel sounds interesting, but I would be afraid of how hot it might get when I use my heat gun. The laminate test I did already got very hot (but it didn't leave a burn mark). Also, I'm not sure how I would attach it to the cabinets. I have cats so don't want to just lay it on top as it might fall if they jump on it wrong. I guess sheet metal screws.
__________________ Jill A. Lost 47 pounds since 09/2006 on WW! 74.4 to go! Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!
I also used white laminate that comes in a 4' X 8' piece. I had to make my craftroom improvements with a limited budget. I have moved four times since I bought it and just changed layout design and still using it. The edges are raw so I nailed on a wood painted trim. I also wanted my counters 30" depth and so cut them narrower. I used the extra pieces for other projects. When it gets messy, I use a homemade stamp cleaner to clean it....tough spots of intense inks I used Ultra clean stamp cleaner. I even have embossed on it using my heat gun with no issues. PS. the 30" depth gives me room for all my things I want at my fingertips and I still have 24 inches of work space. I pull the base out towards the front edge with the back edge of the counter attached to the wall. It's shaped in a large T so that I have room for three stampers. at table height. The cutting table is at standing height. I love the white counters.
My very first craft table was a 2ft. x 3ft. drawing table. No space, no storage. It was all I could afford. It has seen lots of wear and tear. Now I have my own dedicated craft room - DH calls it my "woman cave" and I hate the term - and that table still has a prominent place. I like that it has stains, scribbled notes right on the surface, a few cuts and gouges, and even a cutting pattern or two. To me, the "natural" distressing is artistic; it gives a history of what I have done and how I got to where I am today.
Mine's the MomCave, and I love it. Although I may adapt lair after hearing that tonight...
__________________ The future is uncertain, because love changes everything!
Laminate on my stamp work surfaces, too. I also have oversized cutting mats (originally used for quilting) on top of the laminate. These mats take a incredible amount of abuse from Inks, adhesives, cutting - you name it, I�ve probably done it on them.
One thing I am very careful of is to always do my heat embossing away from any of my craft surfaces. I have a particle board clip-board, wrapped with aluminum foil that I use with the heat gun. The clipboard hangs on a nail next to where my heat gun is, so it�s handy to use. This easy, inexpensive, portable embossing station has saved my laminate tops & mats from being warped and ruined.
My hubby calls my stamp room �The Vortex�, because when I walk by the door, I likely will be sucked in, not to be seen again until I release some creative energy. :cool:
You might think about tempered glass. My desk setup is a couple of Alex drawers with the Glasholm tabletop. It's two pieces of glass layered and glued together. You might be able to do some custom glass work. Nice thing about the glass is that I can work directly on the surface with whatever. Love it!
You might think about tempered glass. My desk setup is a couple of Alex drawers with the Glasholm tabletop. It's two pieces of glass layered and glued together. You might be able to do some custom glass work. Nice thing about the glass is that I can work directly on the surface with whatever. Love it!
Robin
Another vote here for glass!! I have glass on my computer desk and on my MS craft tables. Most glass companies offer glass for table tops cut to size with a non-sharp edge. I had my craft desk glass cut into 2 pieces, one for each desk, rather than 1 large piece. It was a few dollars more, but I didn't have to pay for delivery and it is much easier to handle two smaller pieces.
With a glass top, you can have any kind of counter top installed onto the cabinets, so if you like the look of butcher block you will still be able to see the beautiful wood, but the glass will protect it. I love having my craft tables white though, then I can see all the colors of any of the products I am working on, it is like an extra large palette.
Another idea is to use photos or projects under the glass for decoration.
I opted for Plexiglass for the tope of my work table as My husband built it out of beautiful oak and I didn't want to cover it up. I had considered glass, but at the time I was still pounding my eyelets in with a hammer and eyelet tool and was afraid I might shatter it. It wasn't too expensive and thought if it got scratched or damaged otherwise, I would just replace it. It's been about 10 years and I still have the same piece. It is light enough I can lift an edge and slide pictures or sayings under it to inspire me, or clean up the inevitable stuff that manages to get underneath.
I think I'd be afraid to have a glass top. I'm kind of a klutz. But I do like the idea of having a dedicated, non-laminate spot to use my heat gun.
I've got an appointment in the morning to order the smaller of the two tops. DH thought it would be a good idea to start with the smaller one. That way if I hate it, I haven't wasted a lot of money. **squee** I'm so excited!
__________________ Jill A. Lost 47 pounds since 09/2006 on WW! 74.4 to go! Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!
Interesting thread,
I have a laminate table but for some reason always had a plastic tablecloth on it, probably for when I used to do classes in case somebody made a mess. I think it might be time to get that off! I usually work on our grid paper anyways and have a cutting mat beside.
I like to think of my space is my Carden ( adapted from garden)
I had some table tops made by a local manufacturer because I wanted them a specific size. These are a good quality laminate and I have had no issues at all with them.
Building a Craft Table
at table height. The cutting table is at standing height. I love the white counters.
