before and after by Grace Bonney 30

bowling lane table


After reading through my submission box last night I realized today was quickly turning into an all-before-and-afters day. But you guys really sent over some amazing projects this week, so I couldn’t resist sharing some extras. This amazing table was created by designer and builder Gregory Wilcox of Corvus Design Build. Greg purchased a huge pile of old bowling alley lanes and used the wood to create a series of conference and coffee tables. I can’t imagine how cool it would be to work at something like this- and how hard it would be to resist rolling balls of paper down the lanes on the tabletop while working. I love that Greg kept the original shiny finish on the wood- it’s definitely a clever way to reuse and recycle. Thanks to Greg’s friend Julie for sending this over! xo, grace

*Image above via the Barometer



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30 Comments

Ashley

Very clever!! I love how he kept the original finish. Makes me want to go salvage shopping, haha!

carmine

What a great design. I love how movement remains incorporated into the “lane,” with wheels on one end to move the table and a platform on the other to anchor it. Great idea to have the lane’s arrows pointing in the direction the table moves, too.

Emily

So excited see his! 11 years ago I had a neighbor friend who made a bowling lane table as well. He was moving away and just gave it to me, which I later gave away, too, due to lack of space. I SO wish I had kept it- beautiful and sturdy as ever!!

Emily

So excited to see this! 11 years ago I had a neighbor who made a bowling lane table as well. He ended up giving it to me which I later had to give away due to lack of space. I So wish I had kept it – beautiful and sturdy as ever!

mg

I thought about this briefly for a coffee table. In NYC, this place:

http://www.bignyc.org/featured/bowling-alley-floor-sugar-marple-and-yellow-pine

has some bowling alley floor for sale at $8/sq ft, and this:

http://hairpinlegs.com/

seemed like a cheap, easy leg solution. But then I read some more online and it turns out bowling alley boards can be really hard to work with – full of nails or glued together, very hard, very heavy. Seems like a great project, and I’m that-much-more-impressed with people that actually have the skill, tools and time to pull it off.

Meghan

How great! There’s a bowling alley/bar/concert space near me with a whole bar made like this – it’s so unique. I love how he kept the little guide arrows.

heather seno

my kitchen counters are made of bowling alley lanes and i love them! this is great! makes me want a table to match my kitchen counters.

Lisa

Our local salvage place has bowling lane pieces for sale. They aren’t cheap, but it’s still tempting to use them for something– they are incredibly sturdy and great looking.

Rebecca

This is SO cool! In a perfect world, I would give one to my dear father-in-law, a diehard fan of The Big Lebowski.

Dar

Oh – I love this idea. I have a kitchen chop-block made from a piece of a bowling alley lane from my Dad’s home town; I adore it. I especially liked the before&afters today – thanks!

Sarah

So beautiful. But be careful with the oils underneath—I worked at a studio with such a table and had many a pair of jeans tinted with oils at the knees from brushing with the table’s belly.

Susan Higgins

We work with salvaged bowling lanes. Your table is beautiful! Any one interested in seeing ours can check out our website at hinz57.com

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