Let's call this phase one of the coffee table makeover. You guys have seen this table before, most recently when I talked about child-friendly tchotchkes. Those are still going great, but I've had plans for this table for a while. It's a kid's art table I picked up on the side of the street a few months ago (a few days after I picked up this one, because when it rains it pours), and free is good. But it's not really the right size for a coffee table. I think it's a little short, length-wise for the space, but it was also a little too tall to be a true coffee table. It's tough to see too much of a difference, but here's how tall it was:

Sorta out of place, right? And here's how tall it was after I took my saw to it.

So here's the thing about this little project. In law school, you learn a lot about railroads, a little about falling barrels, and a fair amount about dudes with saws. No, really. Something that really sticks with me is the impact dudes with chainsaws had on our civil justice system. Dudes with saws tend to be total bros and do ill-advised things, like cutting into objects - like tables - that turn out to have steel support rods. It's all fun and games until someone takes a chainsaw to a steel rod. Let's be clear: My table weighs about five pounds. It does not have steel support rods. And, in the event there was some crazy unforeseen impediment, my $4 handsaw would do nothing so much as just...stop should it run into one.

Limbs were never in peril, is what I'm saying. But still. The whole time I sawed into this first leg, I held my breath. Was I acting with the care of a reasonable dude with a chainsaw? More, it turns out. Because I'm a woman, probably. But really, there were no impediments. I cut down the limbs to about couch height - 17 inches or so - and then, to make sure there were no snags on my very precious Turkish rug, I added some little little feet.

Aaaaaand that's it. It really makes a big difference in feeling like it belongs, but you never know. I might still do more to it. Marble top? Painted legs? I don't know. I had found this one for about $80, and I really like its length and oval shape, so I suppose I could give up on overhauling my freebie and just buy it.

I gotta say, I like it a lot. It's so cheap, I'm not sure how it would actually look in person, but I like it as a possible option. For now, my newly shortened coffee table is just fine, and some bunnies are happy with the new height.

That's West enjoying the coffee table maracas, and Lou in her post-school afternoon dance party wear (yep, that's a daily event, in which my sister plays hipster music and they all get down, and it's adorable), and I'm not at all sure where she learned that a royal smile looks like that. But anyway. That is our short-but-sweet coffee table makeover.

Get it?!? Talk soon!