Have you ever wanted to get somebody a personalized gift but can’t find just the right thing? When that happens for me, I make it! I was having the hardest time thinking of what to get my SO for Christmas this year, until I saw him playing chess on his phone constantly. Then it hit me, lets make a chess table!

I spent days scouring Craigslist and FB marketplace for the perfect table that I could convert until I came across this one. It had the perfect ‘lounge’ vibes, and old fashioned details that suit the game perfectly, and the best part is that it was under $50.

To make the chess top, I bought tiles from Lowe’s that were already precut squares so I didn’t need a tile saw. I laid them out dry to determine my dimensions, then started marking my tabletop. Getting the top layer of leather up was more of a challenge than I bargained for, the adhesive used had been meant to last.

I then used my router to create space to lay the tile into. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous about this part. Let’s just say my router and I haven’t always gotten along in the past, and its been sitting on the shelf for months and months because of that. I was determined to make this work though, so I clamped a piece of wood down as a guide and got to work. This part was actually a lot easier than I thought, but it did take some time.

Now it was time for the fun part! I attached my tiles with construction adhesive, but you could go the whole mortar/grout route if you prefer. I had one row that tended to want to pop out, so I clamped wood over top and let it sit while the adhesive dried and haven’t had any issues.

We’re ready to play!