OVAL ON THE BALCONY

In good weather, it’s pleasant to sit on the balcony at a table with a book or chess, have some tea or, on the contrary, refreshing drinks.

However, at other times, the table is a hindrance on the cramped balcony space. The solution is to make a folding or drop-down version.

One type of compact balcony table is offered by the Hungarian magazine “Észermester”. This is a drop-down design that, when folded, represents a flat package on the wall, and after unfolding — a neat table with a semicircular tabletop.

For its manufacture, you will need a furniture board or chipboard, from which the necessary parts are cut with an ordinary saw. There are four of them: the tabletop itself, the base, the spacer, and the tabletop support that serves as a leg. The last three parts are made from one sheet measuring 970×670 mm.

The base is attached to the balcony in place: holes are drilled through it with a recess into the wall, plastic dowels or wooden plugs are inserted, and screws are screwed in.

The base is connected to the spacer with small casement hinges, allowing them to fold into a single plane. The leg is attached to the spacer with the same hinges.

The tabletop is made from a separate sheet measuring 900×650 mm. After rounding, two small bars with a 25-mm gap between them are nailed to the bottom — to fix the leg when unfolding the table. The end of the tabletop is attached to the base with a piano or casement hinge.

Since the table is intended for relaxation and giving the balcony some coziness, all its parts, if they are made of chipboard, are painted with bright enamel paints (after thorough sanding with sandpaper). Workpieces made of furniture board can simply be refreshed with furniture varnish.