DIY Rattan Cane Accent Table

The new desk in the man cave sports snappy rattan cane drawers.  Inspired by that, we did a small DIY project to add rattan cane webbing to the accent table next to the new recliner.

I honestly thought this project would be a snap.  But.  As such things go, it took a little more time and more ingenuity than anticipated.

Rattan Cane is so popular right now.  It seems as if every new furniture item or even glasses and pitchers are accented by some sort of natural caning material.  It really adds an organic element.  And for someone my age, it’s also nostalgic.  My mom loved rattan in the 1970s.

So finding the rattan was easy.  Amazon, of course.  I purchased a three-foot roll and we trimmed it to size.  By which I mean hub cut it to size.  My cutting skills are quite poor.

And then the trick to glue it to a rounded oval surface.  Hmmmm.  Very strong glue is needed so hub found clear Gorilla Glue at Ace.

You need to work quickly because the glue starts to harden but it takes a long time to completely dry. 

So only small sections could be completed and then held in place by super-duper spring clamps until completely dry – at least 3-4 hours.

And applying the glue provided another opportunity to put on our thinking caps.  Using a small paint brush is how most people spread the glue in small spaces.  But then the glue dries and the brush is no good.

Hub came up with the idea of spreading the glue with toothpicks and Ta-Da!  It worked great.

Wrap Up

What I envisioned as a couple-hour, low cost project actually took several days and probably cost over $20.  Which is not really that much money until you add all the trips to hardware stores. 😉

The good news is that we now have clear glue and strong clamps for the next project! And a pretty darn cute table for drinks and the remote control.

What do you have going on this weekend?  I am starting to plan out some cooler-weather organizing projects for home and I’ll share those soon.

In the meantime, God bless and have a great weekend.