DIY Drop Down Cutting Table

I'm in the process of moving Henri's old nursery to the old sewing room and vice versa. The old sewing room is a tad bit bigger and has a full sized closet so it just makes sense. The old nursery is about 7'x11'. It's pretty small so making ALL my sewing supplies fit has been a challenge. I still don't know what I'm going to do with all my fabric scraps but I think I've done a very good job of making it work as best I can. Part of my "plan" was to install a drop-down wall-mounted table.

IKEA has a great CHEAP wall mounted drop down table for only $29.99, the Norbo. They have two more drop leaf tables for about $10 more but the Norbo was just the right size for me anyway 31" x 23 1/4". I wanted to be able to use my self-healing cutting mat on it which didn't quite fit. So here's what I did. (Oh PS, if this isn't quite big enough for your needs, you can always try installing two side by side if you have the space.)

Step 1: Place the top of your table face down on the top of your mat. Trace around edges of table (including the rounded corners). Also, be sure that you're starting at the 1" mark (vertically and horizontally) on your mat and not the 24" on the other side (you still want to be able to use your ruler guides). After you trace the table top to your mat use a pair of sharp heavy duty scissors and cut the mat to the shape of your table top. Don't throw away the long top piece. You'll need that later.

Step 2: Get some high tack spray adhesive. I used Loctite 300 strength which I bought at JoAnns with a 40% off coupon (the coupon can ALWAYS be found in the JoAnn's app in your smart phone). Spray the top of your table top and spray the bottom of your mat. Place the mat on top of your table top matching all corners. Then using the instructions that came with your table, mount it to the wall where you want it to be placed.

Step 3: Place the extra piece of cutting mat on the top of your Norbo table's edge attached to the wall. Then trace the edge to your mat. Be sure to trace and cut along the edge you haven't yet cut (you'll end up flipping the piece around) because when you glue the mat to the table you want your original edge to match up with the other side of your mat. Got it? Cut your mat to the size of your edge piece.

Step 4: Now, before you glue it, put the mat on the edge and lift your table out. Make sure that everything matches up and that the mat is not to wide.

Step 5: Now apply glue to the mat and table edge and press in place.

Done!

I have so many more things that I have planned for this room which I'm so excited about showing them to you but all in due time;-)