Purple Poker Table and Study Desk

Tuesday night is poker night. This is new to us. My son and his friends have been struggling to get together now that everyone has university, jobs, relationships and young adult responsibilities. Sure, they can meet up online sometimes to play video games, but it isn't the same as getting together in person.

Poker night happens at our house because my son has his own space in the rec room. The first few nights, he placed scrap wood, boxes and an old fleece blanket in the center of his room, nestled tightly between the couch and his old, broken desk, to use as a makeshift poker table.

Buying a poker table, even a cheap one right now isn't really in the cards for any of the guys as they are all barely scraping by financially.

I remembered my dad had an old, elongated octagon table in his garage. The plan was to trash it because he had a new table but he never got around to it. He claims for technical reasons (not having a truck), but I'm pretty sure it was because of emotional attachment. This is the table he raised my brother and I with. The one his granddaughter did arts and crafts on in elementary school.

It didn't take much convincing to allow us to repurpose it as a poker table. While digging it out of his garage, we also found the leaf. This meant we could not only make a poker table, but add the leaf to make it his desk for non-poker nights!

Dark brown spray paint and 2 meters of purple felt came to just under $30. All other materials I already had.

This is how we assembled a fancy new poker table/study desk, repurposed an old dinning room table and saved space in the already crowded rec room.

On top of the table itself you will need the following items.

To clean/prep:

Sandpaper or electric sander to rough up the surface

A bucket with warm water and Pine Sol, Mr. Clean, or a similar cleaner.

Rags and rubber cloves

To paint:

One can of Espresso color Paint/Primer

Matt black paint (We used Blk 3.0 because we already had some, but any black will work)

Soft bristle paint brush or sponge

Small container of water and rag or paper towel

To Felt:

Approx. 2 meters of felt (We used purple because it is my sons favorite color, and happened to also be 50% off at Fabricland)

Spray adhesive

A yard stick

Box cutter and scissors

Weights (or books, rocks, anything to weight down the fabric while you work on the opposite side)

A large piece of cardboard

The table we used for this was in pretty rough shape. First we swept off the cobwebs then washed the surface with pine sol and warm water, using gloves and an old rag to wipe with.

When the table was cleaned and dry, we sanded it to create a "tooth" for the paint/primer to stick to. After sanding, wipe the table again with the warm water and Pine Sole mix and let dry.

The table top had some damage to it. The cuts and bubbles from heat damage, crafting and age, did not smooth out as much as I would have liked. Since it was mostly confined to the center I didn't worry too much as it will be covered with felt anyway.

To paint the table, we assembled it upside down. We used Rustoleum paint and primer combination in espresso brown. Holding the can about 3-4 inches from the table, use smooth back and forth motions to cover the table legs and table edges in a thin, even coat.

Let the first layer dry, then add a second layer and let that dry completely before turning the table upright.

We used the same motion to spray the top and the leaf. We didn't need to paint the entire top of the table, just the edge that will show, but I really enjoyed the look of the new dark color and just kept painting!

We placed the felt on top of the table and used the yard stick to smooth it down. The table was not quite 3 inches wider than the felt so by default, 1.5" needed the be the width between the felt and all sides of the hexagon.

As we didn't have anything to clearly mark (but easily wash off) the felt, we held the yard stick firmly on the material then scored it with the box cutter. We attempted to make a full cut with the box cutter originally but it only frayed the felt.

Using scissors, cut the edges of the felt to size.

Place the roll over the leaf with the flat trim on one side and hold it firmly while cutting it to size over the opposite edge.

I didn't originally plan on painting the top black. My son had just found his BLK 3.0 paint, which he's had for a while now but never really knew what he wanted to use it for. For those who don't know, BLK 3.0 was the world's first "blackest black" paint. I think there is new formula that is now the "blackest black for real this time" paint, but for us, this will suffice.

Using a slightly wet, soft bristle brush, we painted about four layers of BLK 3.0 around just the edges of the table top. Let each layer dry completely before adding another. Optional: Use a blow dryer to speed up the drying process.

This style of table didn't require us to use painters tape to mask off the edges but by all means, use some if you need. We wiped any paint we didn't want off with a damp paper towel whenever we failed to color within the lines.

When dry, this paint is very matt. You will be able to see blacker areas than others, which does require some spot painting for an even coat. We thought it was even twice, but when it dried completely (again) we seen some small areas that needed to be blackened even more.

Usually I would add a sealant at this point, but that would add light reflection over this super black paint and make it essentially less black. I guess we'll just leave it and see how long it lasts. It will probably require touching up later.

Cutting and gluing are always the most nerve racking part of any project. There really isn't much room for error. Since I was on my own for this part, I used weights instead on an extra set of hands to hold down parts of the felt I couldn't reach.

Starting with the leaf, lay the pre cut felt down and smooth the surface with the yard stick. Measure the ends of the table to make sure it is centered. Gently place the weights on one side of the felt to secure it.

Flip up one end of felt and spay the spray adhesive on the table, starting at the fold and covering only a few inches. Using the yard stick, smooth the felt over the sprayed table. Let dry.

Fold the felt again, this time over a large piece of card board to catch the overspray. Spray the felt directly with the adhesive, going all the way to the edge. Flip it back onto the table and use the yard stick to smooth it out.

Using this same technique, glue the center to wards the edge on the opposite side.

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Lining up eight sides of an octagon is a bit trickier than lining up two sides of rectangle. I know it isn't prefect because my measuring and cutting are never perfect. But perfect is boring. At least that's what I tell myself.

Once the felt is lined up and smoothed, we placed the yard stick back a few inches (maybe six to eight) and place the cardboard on top to protect overspray. This time we are starting with the edge. Fold the felt over the cardboard and spray adhesive directly on the material. Use the yard stick to flip it back over and smooth it out. Let dry.

Fold the felt over the attached edge to reveal the table top. Spray adhesive on the center of the table, leaving about 6-8 inches on each side. Fold felt back overtop and smooth with the yard stick. Let dry.

Place the cardboard on the felt and fold over one side, the same as above. Spray the adhesive directly on the felt and use the yard stick to smooth it out to the edges. Repeat on each side. Let dry.

It breaks my heart to cut the octagon felt in half. But if we want to use it as a study desk as well, sacrifices have to be made.

The felt was glued on first to make the cutting easier and more accurate. Puncture the felt with the box cutter somewhere along the table seem. Using the yard stick to steady the blade, cut a line through the felt with the box cutter.

The box cutter did not work to cut just the felt, but glued to a table with a seem down the center, a box cutter was the perfect tool.

There is a latch on the underside you push to separate the two halves of the table. Pull them apart and place the leaf in the center. Push the two halves closed and it will be held secure.