When I moved out of my last apartment, my cheap IKEA coffee table had to go. I had been wanting to DIY a coffee table for awhile, but the timing just wasn’t right. I knew if I got rid of the only one I had, I had to build one. For the first couple months in my new place, I was coffee table-less, but it was more motivation to build one. I must say, it’s pretty satisfying having a piece of furniture you built by yourself.
When we started building our table, my grandma mentioned that my grandpa had made her a beautiful coffee table as a Christmas present once upon a time. And, once my aunt found out Travis had built me a coffee table, she mentioned that my uncle had made her one for her apartment when they were first together. Really, building this table was a right of passage for Travis being accepted into my family.
Materials:
- 1 2×6 piece of wood
- 4 16″ Round taper legs
- 4 Angled top plate
- Steal strip
- Screws
- Wood stain
- Wood stain sealer
- Sander
Take your 2×6″ piece of wood and measure out 3’10” and mark out the two cuts you will make. It’s ok if your cuts aren’t exact because you will be doing sanding later on.
Group your three pieces of wood together, preferrably with a clamp and start sanding the ends away. Once the three ends of one side seem smooth, repeat on the other side.
Once you are happy with your sanding, lay out your three pieces of wood as if you are setting up your table.
Start with the bottom and stain away. Once that dries, flip it over and stain the top. We ended up doing three coats of stain on the top, and about two on the bottom. Once you are satisfied with your stain, and once it is completely dry, apply a layer or two of wood stain sealer.
Repeat the staining process with your wooden table legs. Wrap wire around the bottom of your table legs so that you have a way to hang them up while they dry. Again, we applied about 3 coats of stain on these as well, and added the sealer as well.
Cut your steel strips into 14″ peices. Drill six holes in each strip and matching six holes across the bottom of your wood peices to attach the three steel strips. Once your stain has dried, attach the three steel strips onto the bottom of the wood peices using wood screws.
Attach your angled top plates to the bottom of your table top. Screw in your table legs and admire all of your handy work.
This was definitely a more challenging project for us to complete. And by us, I mean Travis and Pops building and Elise watching and waiting to stain. Not in that it was difficult, it was just something different than anything we have ever done before so there was quite a learning curve involved. Also, it took about twice as long to complete as we originally thought (#typicalDIYproject). We completed the table in about two weekends, because we had to complete it in my grandpa’s garage, so we would go over there when we had time. At last, a coffee table I can admire and be proud of!
PS: More info on my gallery wall here.
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