DIY Reversible Wood Table Top Tutorial

Written by Mike Tamplin • Apr 15, 2013

DIY Reversible Wood Table Top Tutorial
Akaso Mini Projector

Take your cookie decorating to the next level!

Trace cookie designs with ease with the Akaso mini projector.
Buy on Amazon

I‘ve been getting a few questions on my backgrounds in my recent cookie photos. So, I thought I’d take the time to show you what I use and how I made them.

A few months ago, I was getting tired of seeing my boring, dark, dining table surface in my photographs. I wanted some realistic variation in my photos without having to buy actual tables to clutter my condo. I searched on Pinterest for ideas and came across a nifty tutorial from Confections of a Foodie Bride (who got inspiration by a tutorial from Love & Olive Oil). It was a how-to for a double-sided, wooden table top, about 2 feet square in size.

It was exactly what I was looking for, so I took a trip to The Home Depot to get the supplies.

(For a more detailed list of supplies and the step-by-step instructions, please visit the tutorial at Confections of a Foodie Bride. My plan is to show just a glimpse into the construction process, while sending traffic their way of anyone interested in doing this themselves.)

DIY Reversible Wood Table Top Construction

I had most of the supplies already, with the exception of the wood planks and paint. The paint sample was just $2.94. The wood I found was only available in 4ft planks that I cut in half with a handsaw. The cost of those planks were around $30. So it came to about $35 for two food photography surfaces. Not bad!

Here’s a pic of the gluing process:

And here’s what the finished surface looks like after being weighed down by heavy objects and set to dry overnight:

After posting a few cookie photos, I was really impressed how the board surface looked in my final shots. I decided I needed to make a second one just to have a few more background color options. The hardest part was definitely picking out what colors to paint the boards. If you’re interested, here are the color samples I ended up choosing.

In order:

  1. Varathane’s “Weathered Gray” wood stain
  2. Behr’s “Sea Life” paint
  3. Behr’s “Glacial Tint” paint
  4. Varathane’s “American Walnut” stain

Tip: I wanted the wood grain to still show through after painting, so I wet my foam brush with water before applying the paint on the wood. Then I immediately wiped away the excess with a paper towel.

That’s pretty much the entire process of making these wooden table tops. Pretty easy, if I say so. Here’s a pic of my photography setup using these new wood surfaces:

If you’re wondering what those white, light boxes are on each side of the wood board, I wrote another DIY tutorial about them here. I mostly (almost always) shoot at night due to my work schedule and they are a tremendous help. Here’s a shot of the setup with the lights turned on:

Now, here are some of the actual shots with the wood table top backgrounds:

If you like what you see and feel up to a little DIY weekend project, I encourage you to head over to Confections of a Foodie Bride’s page and build one for yourself.

If you’re not up for making something or just don’t have the time for a DIY project, I totally understand. There are other simpler options that give you similar results. Melissa over at The Baked Equation shows you her food photography setup. She uses no-fuss, vinyl backdrops from Ink & Elm in creative ways. It’s worth checking out.

Tags:
Become a member!
Become a shop member to unlock exciting perks. Earn points for every dollar spent. Plus extra ways to earn!
Join For Free