This is my take on cardboard furniture. I made a coffee table previously, but it did have problems. I hope I've fixed those problems in this version. It's a monopod - it has just one foot. This has a big flat base so that when it's in use it can be pushed out of the way. Hopefully this has got rid of any weakness where the legs join on to the top. My table is decorated with discarded chocolate bar wrappers - but you can choose your own decoration.
Step 1Gather your materials and tools
Cardboard is the main thing you need. Before I started this build, we got a new cooker delivered. Luckily for me it came with two big bits of cardboard, top and bottom, both built like shallow boxes. The top was polystyrene reinforced with lovely bits of wood. Added to this pile of scrap, I added some stout boxes I was hoarding in the garage.
My original fascination for working with cardboard was the way the corrugations could be reinforced by gluing two layers together at right angles. I've since learned (the hard way) that the weakest point is the folds where the box flaps are. You can see here that I've reinforced them.
The only tools I used were a tenon saw, a hammer and chisel, a file, a box-cutter knife, some big scissors and some wood glue.
But it's not a coffee table unless it can pass the knee test and bruise an unsuspecting knee. Is it strong enough to handle clumsy people like me?