I saw this high end designer coffee table and I fell in love. I love the wood tone, the arch legs and the overall modern transitional look. However, at $2600 that was no where near my budget.
Luckily, I knew I could DIY a similar coffee table, and make it a custom size for my living room. This is a pretty easy DIY. The only problem? Both my husband and brother doubted that I could make a solid piece of furniture. In fact, when I suggested I make our dining table, they both said I couldn’t do it. Now’s my chance to redeem myself!
Cut list
- The table is made of 2″x9″ lumber
- 3x 60″ for the table top
- 4x 48″ for the legs
- 3x small braces for support
I made this a bit bigger than an average coffee table because I wanted it to fill the space in the living room. You can customize it to any size
Materials
- Lumber
- Wood glue
- 1” screws
- Galvanized Strips (Bracing brackets
- p220 and p120 grit sandpaper
Tools
- Jigsaw
- Table saw (optional)
- Mitre Saw (option, you can get it cut at the hardware store)
- Impact Driver + Drill
- Power Sander
- Kreg Pocket Hole system
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Step 1 – Make the table top
Sand all your lumber. Arrange your table top upside down. Apply glue along the seam of the lumber. Don’t apply too much or it will ooze out to the table top.
If you have clamps, clamp these together. If you don’t that’s okay! My clamps were not big enough to span across the 3 pieces of lumber.
I squished the lumber together and attached the galvanized strips. Drill a pilot hole for each screw. Secure with 1” screws.
Step 2 – Make the curved legs of the table
The legs are made of 2 pieces of lumber joined together. I ran all my lumber through the table saw, trimming off ⅛”. This ensures that when the legs are joined together, they will look more seamless. If you don’t have a table saw, you can ask the lumber store to make this cut, or skip it.
The top piece of lumber has a curve where it’s connected to the tabletop. Using a paint can (or any round object), trace the curve. Then cut it out using your jigsaw.
For the legs, I measured 2” from the side edge and 2” from the bottom. I made another curve using a paint can. Then I used a piece of scrap trim to make the straight part, connecting it the curve on the opposite edge.
Cutting this thick long piece of wood was a challenge that my jigsaw did NOT appreciate. I tried a few different blades, but none of the blades fared well to this thick wood. It was a slow process.
In the end, I made the cut, but I had to do quite a bit sanding to get it smooth. I first started with p60 girt, then p120 grit, followed by p220 for a finished edge.
Step 3 – Attach the coffee legs together
Once the legs have the curve shape, we can attach them together! Add wood glue to the edge. This time, my clamps were big enough to hold the legs together. This is where I think the clamp is really important.
I left them dry for 24 hours before removing the clamps. Luckily they held together!
Step 4 – Attach the legs to the table top
This step took some iteration, so I will tell you how to do it. Not, the way I stumbled through it…
I marked on the bottom of the table where the legs would be attached. Then I used wood glue and then secured with 3 small brackets on the inside of the legs.
When I flipped it over, this wasn’t strong enough. It was wobbly.
I also cut 3 small braces and added pocket holes to each end. Then I placed it between the two legs. I secured the screws it to the legs. This added a lot of stability. It wasn’t wobbly anymore!
I think you could also use pocket holes to attach the legs to the table top.
Step 5 – Prepare the table for Stain
Before jumping into staining the table, there’s a few steps of prep that will make the stain look so much better. Since I built this inside my home, I am using a water based stain. Water based stain is a bit easier to work with as the color isn’t as deep, and it doesn’t have a nasty odour.
I started by adding wood conditioner. Wood conditioner evens out the wood tone of the stain so you don’t get any blotches. I put a latex glove over my hand (as if I am surgeon.. haha) and used a sock. I rubbed a generous amount of wood conditioner to the table.
Follow the instructions of the wood conditioner. Some tell you to wait 24 hours before applying stain, others direct you to apply the stain within a few hours.
Step 6 – Applying my magic stain combo to get a rustic wood tone
I often find that when you apply a brown stain to wood, it gets very dark, very fast. For this table, I wanted a mid tone oak colored table. I started by applying a coat of white wash stain. I used one light coat of stain.
Then, I applied my rustic brown stain. I like to apply stain with a sock and slowly build the color up. It’s easy to build the color up, but once it’s too dark, it’s near impossible to reduce the color. You’d have to sand the entire table down bare wood again.
Step 7 – Seal your table for durability
I have 3 kids, so this DIY coffee table will get A LOT of wear and tear. My kids will use it for coloring, puzzles and building LEGO. I applied 2 coats of sealer. Again, since I used a water based sealer, this was easy and mess free.
Admire Your New DIY Coffee Table
I am SO happy with how this DIY coffee table turned out. It’s the first piece of furniture I built from scratch. It was a beginner DIY project. It looks very similar to my $3000 Inspiration coffee table. It fits right in with my modern transitional living room.
The best part is that you can customize the size and the stain color to match the decor in your home!
Update: I made this coffee table 3 months ago. I was nervous that my 2 boys would be very rough and break it. It is going strong!
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