The Monster Table!

Sorry not to have posted in a while but I've been working on getting more coats of paint on my monster art table. My husband was good enough to get the primer coat plus one coat of the paint onto it but it needed more. Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures of the Monster. I really think it will be great to use as it has all that storage beneath the split table top. However, I want to store paper there and wondered if the paint is enough of a barrier to keep acid from harming the art paper. If not, what can I do to protect the paper during long-term storage? I'm a bit of an art supply collector and sometimes it's quite a while before I use some things. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the Monster!


As you can see, there is a storage area under the table top that's about five and a half inches deep at nearly the entire width and length of the table. The drafting hinge mechanisms have not been attached yet but will support each half of the split top. The table has been designed so that I can work from either side and have access to the storage area no matter which side of the table I'm on.

I'll probably work from the left side/left drawing area most often so my husband installed a pull-out wire basket for more supplies on the right side under the table. I have some plastic shoe boxes and can fit three of them perfectly into the basket. This type of storage box will also fit under the table top.

I still need to find some kind of protection for the top - I'd thought of a self-healing mat material to cover each half of the top but that doesn't feel like the right solution to me. I also looked at some smooth, 1/8 inch wall board but decided that would not stand up. My husband suggested linoleum/vinyl flooring but we couldn't find anything that wasn't textured. The tops are painted and I may just put on several coats of polyurethane or something and make sure to use large sheets of newsprint under my art work. Again, if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know!