Get Creative

It’s hard to miss – gleams of homemade copper fixtures and furnishings seem to be visible in every trendy shop, restaurant, salon, cafe and beyond. We’ve always admired the handiwork of business owners and friends alike, eagerly soaking in tales of welding and trips to the hardware store like sponges. After seemingly endless “field research” we decided it was about time to try our hand at making our own copper creations.

We didn’t want to overcomplicate, so we tried to do these two projects with as few tools and supplies as humanly possible to make them more attainable for both ourselves and our writers. I won’t sugar coat it – these DIY’s were still pretty advanced! Copper is super malleable and easy to damage, plus the parts don’t always fit together as easily as expected. It’s a little hit and miss, and we highly recommend giving yourself more time than you’d expect. Take it slow, measure twice before cutting, and get a friend to help if you can!

Simple Clothing Rack

What you’ll need //

2x 6′ length of 3/4″ copper piping (a total of 12feet)
2x 3/4″ copper elbows
4x 3/4″ copper Tees
4x 3/4″ copper caps
Goop Glue
Sanding block (coarse)
Washi Tape (or painters tape)
Sharpie
Acetone and cotton balls
Clear enamel spray paint
Pipe Cutter*

*You are also able to pay a small fee to have your piping cut to length at Home Depot, or visit their Tool Rental Counter to borrow a pipe cutter!

The pipe cutter we used is small and handheld, simply tighten it’s grip around the pipe lining the blade up with your sharpie mark. You want it firm enough to hold the pipe in place but still able to rotate freely, the blade will score the piping until it breaks. When you can start to smell pennies you know its working, keep tightening the grip as you cut.

Instructions //

The clothing rack is made up of 5 pieces;
Top Bar – 3′
Bottom Bar 1/2 – 3′
Bottom Bar 2/2 -3′
Side Bar 1/2 -5′
Side Bar 2/2 -5′
Bottom Sides – 4x 4″
Feet – 4x 2″

Measure carefully and use a sharpie to mark where you’ll cut. Write the piece’s name and measurement on some tape and label each part before you cut to stay organized.
Once you’re pieces are cut to size and labelled, start assembling.
You’ll notice most copper piping you buy is marked with ink, it’s easy to remove with acetone, we recommend doing this after your cuts but before you assemble.
The Top Bar is connected to either end of the Side Bar’s using the 2 copper elbows. If you find it difficult to slide the piping into the elbow, sand down the edge with your sanding block evenly until it fits. Lay this aside and begin the bottom.

Each 4″ piece of pipe is sandwiched between copper Tee’s, like shown below. The copper Tee in the middle will hold the side bars, and should be facing up while the others point inward towards each other and hold each of the Bottom Bars.

Once you’re sure all your measurements check out and you’re happy with the structure, secure each joint with goop. Don’t worry if you make a bit of mess, once dry it will peel right off the outside. Once it’s secure and dry you can add the feet. The feet are made up of a 2″ piece of pipe slid inside the end of the bottom and capped with a 3/4″ copper cap. Do this for each open end, use a hammer to make sure they are securely attached.

Copper is a material that oxidizes, which means air and even touch has a hand in tarnishing it’s colour – to preserve it’s copper glow use a clear enamel spray paint to evenly coat the whole thing.

Double-level Side Table

What you’ll need:

3x 6′ length of 3/4″ copper piping
16x 3/4″ copper Tees
8x 3/4″ copper caps
Goop Glue
Sanding block (coarse)
Washi Tape (or painters tape)
Sharpie
Acetone and cotton balls
Clear enamel spray paint
Pipe Cutter*

Instructions //

This side table is more advanced than the clothing rack, we don’t recommend this particular one for copper pipe DIY beginners.

Here’s a colour-coded guide to what you’ll be assembling:

Peach – Tees
Pink – Caps
Blue – 3″
Red – 1 foot
Green – 16″
Purple – 6″
Yellow – 8″

First, create 2 ‘Table-top casings’ using;
4x 8″ pieces
1x 16″ pieces
6x copper Tee’s

They will look something like 2 capital H’s when you’re done. Once you’ve measured to make sure it’s a good fit, use the goop to seal the joints. Set these aside.

Cut 2 16″ Cross Bar’s to help support the weight of your table, securely fashion Tee’s on either end. The Cross Bar’s will always fall perpendicular to your Table-top casing’s middle bar. These 4 components are the building blocks of the table and you can start building from the bottom up.

Put together 2 ‘feet’ just like in the post above. These feet get attached to your first Cross Bar, now add 2 pieces of 3″ pipe to either end. This makes up one side of the table, on the other side cut 2 pieces of 6″ pipe and slide 2 copper caps on either end. These 4 posts are the bottom of the table, you’re ready to lower your first Table-top casing on top of it, remembering that the middle bar of your casing is to run perpendicular to the Cross Bar you’ve just laid down. Build upward again in preparation to lay your second Cross Bar, again perpendicular to the middle bar but on the other side, fit another two 3″ pieces on top of the Table-top casing, laying your second Cross Bar on top. Working on top of the second cross bar, fit another two 8″ pieces. On the other side two 1 foot lengths. You should see each side climbing to reach each other, now add your second Table-top casing. This is the top of the table, the same way you’ve made ‘feet’, cut another 4 2″ pieces to fit between the Tee and the copper cap to finish it off.

Before you add your table surfaces, remember copper oxidizes – spray all over with a clear enamel spray paint.

We used Marble tiles cut to 18″ x 18″ for our surfaces, this is a popular size for tile and can be found at Home Depot. Alternatively, painted wood would add a fun pop of colour!

A special thanks to Home Depot Canada for being a once-stop-shop for all our DIY needs

This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com