The DIY Coffee Table
I love projects! Okay, I love home projects especially when it involves my handy hubby helping bring my vision to life :)!!! This was such a fun project for us. You see, we recently painted our home and I didn’t know how one simple paint color could change everything else in the home.
It all started with a wall paint color which meant updating the trim, this led to updating the paint color on the kitchen cabinets and then it snowballed into the kitchen backsplash. Yes, before picking a color, you need to be extra sure how it will impact the rest of the house. Luckily, we knew this beforehand and now absolutely in love with the subtle changes this brought to our home!
So on the topic of the DIY coffee table. With the entire home in grays, browns, and whites; it warranted upgrading our current cloth ottoman to create a more rustic look. Initially when I came up with the idea, Alex wasn’t too sure about it but if there’s one thing I love about that man, it is always thinking about a solution to my vision! He finally came up with an idea to build a box on top of the ottoman which will satisfy the look I was going for and also give the flexibility to remove the frame if we wanted to use the ottoman in another part of the house and switch things up. Brilliant huh?!
How to Build A Coffee Table
The making of the coffee table involved a sketch of the layout. We also had to decide the layout of the wood; all horizontal or vertical, or a mix of horizontal with a vertical support at the ends to give it character. In the end, we went with a simple short-sided vertical look.
Supplies included an 8-inch premium kiln-dried square edge whitewood board from Home Depot. I love this project because it is such a great and fun way to be creative and still be cost effective.
- Step 1: Sketch design of table
- Step 2: If using an existing ottoman like we did, then measure width, length, height and calculate best fit. If doing this from scratch, then decide on width and length which will help with supplies needed for the project
- Step 3: Purchase necessary hardware/supplies and cut to the size needed. For this project we used a nail gun, hand sander, hand saw, miter saw, and a square. We also went with wood that had a lot of grains and knots.
- Step 4: Alex started with the outer frame and then worked his way by securing the top planks to the frame (he nailed everything in place)
- Step 5: Planks may not be even or smooth on the edges so take the time to sand your work. After completing the frame, sand the entire table. This will make it smooth because the last thing we all need is kids having splinters from the wood! It will also make it easier to stain.
- Step 6: Stain the table and let sit to dry
- Step 7: You now have a table you can use and be proud of since you did it yourself! I love how rustic this coffee table looks. It gives this space a lot of character.
Have you done any home projects yourself? If so, I would love to hear about them. Also let me know if you would like more details on the actual process step by step for future posts. Next up, shiplapping our kitchen island!
I have linked all items in the post below.
