Introduction: DIY Wooden Coffee Table

About: Hello, everyone! My name is Elena Frensa and I come from the USA. I'm a junior school teacher and I like my profession a lot. I adore working with kids, because they are sincere, open-hearted and so cute! I le…

Hi, guys! I’m really glad to write this post as I’ve not posted anything here for quite a long period of time. The thing is that we’ve recently moved to a new house and I just didn’t have time to write something. However, as we moved in, I realized that I could use my creative ideas and skills to give our new home coziness and visual appeal. This especially concerned furnishings, which was quite a new experience for me. I’ve read a lot on the topic and explored the web, hoping to find interesting ideas. And I really succeeded at this. Well, I’m not an expert in this field yet, but I hope, I’ll improve my skills in future as there is a lot that has to be done in the new home. Today, I’m going to present you the idea of a DIY coffee table made of natural wood. It’s not that exquisite or trendy, but it looks pretty modern and functional. And, what really matters, it is unique and doesn’t resemble all those coffee tables available on sale these days. Are you interested? Let’s start the Instructable now.

Step 1: Supplies

  • Sided timber
  • Wood boards
  • Glue to work with wood
  • Alcohol-based stain
  • Furniture polish
  • Nails
  • Drywall screws
  • Electric drill
  • Power jigsaw
  • Belt sander
  • Screw gun
  • Fine grit sandpaper
  • Paint brush
  • Soft lintfree cloth
  • Pencil
  • Tape measure
  • Bevel square

Step 2: Define the Required Measurements

Whatever furniture item you are going to construct on your own, you won’t be able to do that well without proper measurements. Prior to making them, of course, you’ll also need a sketch depicting the model of your new coffee table. You can find the sketch on the web or you can look for the ideas you’ll further use to make a unique sketch. It’s up to you to decide what exactly you need. Define, where your coffee table will stand. This will help you detect the required measurements. Draw the details of your coffee table as well as the number of pieces you need and their exact measurements.

Step 3: Prepare the Pieces

If you are an amateur and don’t have any furniture construction experience yet, it’s better to use readymade sided timber from the supermarket, even though, this variant is a bit more expensive as compared to making the sided timber on your own by using the pieces of wood. Indicate the measurements on the wood and saw the sided timber into the pieces of the required sizes. Check the measurements twice prior to sawing them wood Take your time to choose the wood boards with intricate design and rich texture. Having cut the boards, carefully polish them. To do that properly, it makes sense to use a belt sander for a quality result.

Step 4: Assemble the Pieces of Your Coffee Table

When assembling the pieces of your coffee table, use the diagonal pocket holes to fix the details with wood screws. You can further hide them by applying the sealer, while the table will gain professional and quality look. Mark the joint places of the coffee table basis with a pencil and drill the holes. Apply some glue on the joint places, fix the details and the screws firmly. The use of glue and screws will help you fix the details safely in the shortest time interval. Having done that, you can polish the construction, but it’s also possible to do that after your coffee table is ready.

Step 5: Protective-Decorative Treatment of the Table Basis

To give your coffee table old and refined look, you can perform protective-decorative treatment of it to create the wood aging effect. Apply the layer of alcohol-based stain to give the wood deep dark shade and then paint the basis white. As soon as it dries out, polish several places of the basis to leave the rubbing marks. You should do this manually by using fine grit sandpaper. Finally, apply a layer of furniture polish. Wait until it dries out, polish the surface with fine grit sandpaper once again and then apply one more layer of the furniture polish.

Step 6: Prepare a Counter Top

To prepare the elements of a counter top, use the alcohol-based stain. This is an affordable and effective means of wood toning. Protective-decorative oil can be used for this purpose as well. It is more expensive, but it comes with lots of benefits. As a result, you will get a soft and shining coffee table counter top surface.

Step 7: Assemble a Coffee Table

Having toned the counter top, fix the details of it on the basis. Use standard nails to do that. As opposed to screws, they won’t be that noticeable. Polish the counter top then, just like you did that with the basis of your coffee table. You can also apply an additional layer of furniture polish to make the counter top more durable and scratch-resistant.

Step 8: Enjoy the Result!

That’s it! Your DIY wooden coffee table is now ready! Enjoy the way it looks and invite guests to boast your handmade furniture piece! Good luck!