How to Make a DIY Coffee Table – Step-by-Step Guide

11 months ago

An alternative option for purchased furniture is the ability to create it yourself. You can make an original DIY Coffee Table with your own hands in a couple of hours. The process is simple and fun even for a beginner. Only initial skills in handling carpentry tools, ingenuity, and some degree of aesthetic flair are required.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- There are countless varieties of the original coffee table
There are countless varieties of different coffee tables

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Benefits of makin home furniture yourself:

  • Minimum financial costs
  • The exclusivity of the model
  • Individual convenience
How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Making this one is easy: even if blueprints are required, they are not at all complicated
Making this one is easy: even if blueprints are required, they are not at all complicated

You can put a self-created sample in the living room, bedroom or children’s room. Self-made products look great in city apartments and country cottages, delighting the owners and guests with their uniqueness and style.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Just don't fall in :)
Just don’t fall in 🙂

What tools you may need for work?

What kind of materials are needed depends on the basis of the collected item. To make a coffee table with your own hands, you will need a variety of auxiliary things.

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How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Anything can become a coffee table if you apply a little bit of imagination
Anything can become a Coffee Table if you apply a little bit of imagination

It will be next to impossible to build an accurate and durable table structure without glue, varnish, and sandpaper. Nice paint will also come in handy – choose convenient sprays, they can quickly and without getting dirty cover the entire surface of the countertop.

A good quality primer will be required to cover the base and supports. You can buy it at your local hardware store. Do not forget the materials for decoration – fabrics of various textures and densities, lace, colored plastic or glass, etc.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Even a sloppy coffee can be called a 'unique idea'
Even a sloppy coffee can be called a ‘unique idea’

Anything you have lying in your pantry for decades could come in handy – newspapers, a large cardboard box, old sheets, or even wine bottle corks.

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How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- There's no such thing as too-much-wine - if your goal is making this beauty
There’s no such thing as too-much-wine – if your goal is making this beauty

For building your DIY coffee table, you would need to prepare the necessary tools.

First of all, a hammer, scissors, pliers. You will also need different fasteners, furniture nails (normal and rivets), or Parker-screws of different sizes.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- There are many ways to decorate the table
There are many ways to decorate the table

To quickly cut wood pieces, you need a hacksaw. If you have a carpentry table, and you have the skills to work like this, then the presence of a chisel, cutter, and plane will be a plus in order to process a wooden base with professional precision. To decorate the elements, you will need a sharp cutter or a set of carpentry knives.

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How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Rustic coffee table
Rustic coffee table

Something bigger, like a DIY Farmhouse Dining Table, would also look nice alongside this stylish coffee table.

What the coffee table will be is entirely up to you. Next, we decide on the design and construction.

DIY Coffee Table from pallets – Steps

To quickly make beautiful furniture, people often take some sort of wood as a basis. It can also be made from a regular pallet. One-piece without cracks and four wooden supports is enough to create a beautiful table yourself.

DIY Palette Coffee table – Step-by-step Guide

  1. We begin making our table from pallets with Marking

  2. Cutting the pallet in two

    Having decided on the dimensions and having made all the necessary marks, we cut out the middle of the pallet: a flat surface should be on the front side, embossed – with symmetrically located bars – from the bottom

  3. Table legs

    Decide on table legs (preferably carved), treat them with a primer, and let them dry

  4. Varnish the top and sides of the countertop

  5. When all the elements are dry, you can start securing them. Use nails (or screws) and hardware to connect

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How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Rustic DIY Palette Coffee Table with drawers
Rustic DIY Palette Coffee Table with Drawers

DIY Coffee Table from an Old Radiator (Heater)

These models look good if they are short. An interesting coffee table can be made from an already unnecessary central heating radiator. To do this, it must be painted evenly. Instead of a tabletop, you can take a glass or a wide board in size.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- DIY Coffee Table from an Old Radiator (Heater)
DIY Coffee Table from a Radiator

For mobility, wheels from an old baby carriage are often used. The construction of a furniture masterpiece will take a minimum of time and money.

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How to Make a Coffee Table from an Old Window and some Books

You can find a new use for an outdated window – use it to create a table with your own hands. Sand the frames and paint them if necessary. As supports, you can use not only wooden legs (bars) but also old books that do not fit on the shelves.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- If you have recently changed windows at home - you can make an interesting coffee table from one old window
If you have recently changed windows at home – you can make an interesting coffee table from one old window

You can even perhaps add a DIY Picture Frame to the wall, it would light up the room even further!

A coffee table will be convenient in the summer/winter cabin if you spend a lot of time there. On the glass of such an original countertop, you can apply a pattern or a thin layer of matting paint.

Making Rustic Coffee Table from an Old Front Door

An old front door can also serve as a base for your desk. For this, its central part is taken, and the rest goes to the supporting sides since the coffee table will not be very high. For greater stability, you can make the bottom shelf from the chipboard.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- If you replaced the front or interior doors, then use the old door as material for a new table
If you replaced the front or interior doors, then use the old door as material for a new table

The surfaces of the table – countertops, and supports – are varnished. Matte varnish will look good.

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Often, outdated doors have embossed zoning, when using a table it is convenient, since you can safely put a tray with dishes without fear that it will slip.

DIY Table from old furniture

Sometimes it’s a shame to throw away good pieces of furniture that are out of fashion. They can serve as the basis for new products. Smooth cabinet doors, especially if they are lacquered, are an excellent workpiece.

Legs are also useful – straight or carved if the product is planned to be low. You can use two doors by connecting them with cut pieces from the side panels of the cabinet. This option takes very little time and is practically free.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Wooden fruit/vegetable crates or boxes - a versatile material for creating DIY furniture
Wooden fruit/vegetable crates or boxes – a versatile material for creating DIY furniture

Drawers from a chest of drawers are suitable for a split or solid table. Adjustment is carried out by cutting off the protruding parts. The assembled tabletop is installed on any supports – for example, elements of the same chest of drawers, bars treated with a primer, books, etc.

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Diy Stump Table

An unusual coffee table is made from a single piece of wood – a stump left over from a cut pine, birch or poplar. It should be wide enough and even, with nice rings. Depending on the height of the stump, you can choose from the following:

  • With a low tabletop on thin metal legs
  • Medium height without supports (the base of the stump serves as support)
  • A low table on casters
How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Sanded stump or log can be placed directly on the floor or wheels can be attached
Sanded stump or log can be placed directly on the floor or wheels can be attached

If you wish, you can leave the natural look of the stump – with bark (leaving it as it is or varnishing it) or paint it in any color, after removing the bark. White and beige tones look the most advantageous.

Suitcase Table for Travel Lovers

You can also use vintage bulky suitcases as a tabletop. This original handmade coffee table will appeal to romantic people who often like to spend time on educational trips.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Original solution for an old beloved suitcase
Original solution from an old beloved suitcase

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An old suitcase is taken as a basis, preferably from thin wooden surfaces. Leave the locks in place; they serve as fasteners. You can also leave the straps. The suitcase can be tinted or left as it is, depending on the surface condition. For the legs, you can use both wooden blocks (or carved furniture supports) and wheels.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Rustic suitcase is reborn as a coffee table
Rustic suitcase is reborn as a coffee table

For greater resistance to moisture, the surface can be varnished. Fasteners here can be both bolts and hardware. You can drill holes for the legs in the bottom of the suitcase itself and secure them with iron rims with spacers.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide --Simple wooden table
Simple wooden table

Log Table for Nature Lovers

Wood is a material that lends itself well to processing. Sand half a wide log and thinner logs. The bark on the sides and bottom of the countertop can be left or removed. For fasteners, use nails and metal corners. Instead of log legs, you can take metal or legs from old furniture.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Homemade table can me as tall or as short as you need it to be
Homemade table can me as tall or as short as you need it to be

Making an exclusive wood coffee table is quite simple. Ordinary logs will serve as both a base and support.

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DIY Coffee Table From Wooden Cable Coil

A coffee table from a large cable reel looks very interesting. First, the round shape looks harmonious. Secondly, it can be made rotating. Thirdly, the side cavity can be used for a variety of items – magazines, books, writing utensils, discs, additional utensils (if they are not needed on the table during tea drinking).

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Large reels from industrial cable are rare but ideal coffee table template
Large reels from industrial cable are rare but ideal coffee table template

It will serve as a table top from the side flat sides.

The coffee table can be made with or without supports by simply placing the coil on its side. The “Health” disc can be used as a rotating element.

Cavities from the side look more interesting if they are zoned symmetrically with wooden planks fixed with glue.

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Making a Glass Coffee Table

Do-it-yourself glass coffee table is very easy to make. As a tabletop, ordinary thick glass (square, rectangular, round) is used, preferably tempered, since the material is quite fragile and can crack from impact or temperature extremes.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Looks fragile yet elegant
Looks fragile yet elegant

The coffee table can lean on carved wooden legs with a wide base, books, hemp and other elements. It is advisable to make a central support for him. The elements are attached to a special resistant glue.

The final stage is always Decoration

A variety of ideas are used in decorating a DIY sample. Smooth surfaces hold the pattern or ornament around the perimeter well, and non-uniform surfaces – applications and other elements.

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  • A table top made of a pallet, logs, stump looks good if carved on it. And glass can be laid out from pieces that make up a whole picture (for example, a chessboard) and fastened with a resistant glue
  • A handmade coffee table will benefit from embossed elements. The thread can be applied to the side pieces of wood, corners, on the front. The material with which you can tint part of the thread is paint or varnish
  • Alternatively, you can use a fabric with a small nap in the decoration, upholstery with it on the side parts. Material from an old coat that you no longer wear is ideal. For fasteners, use small nails, rivets, or glue fabric strips
  • You can decorate the table with lace or a fringed ribbon (tassels), upholstering the base around the entire perimeter with them. This finish will imitate a tablecloth. It goes well with pastoral-style crocheted lace doilies
  • The front side of the sample looks unusual if you stick a rough canvas on it like a mat
  • Twine, rough hemp rope can serve as an excellent finishing material. You can decorate both legs and a tabletop with them. To decorate the supports, apply glue to them and wrap them with twine, trying to fit very tightly against the previous ring of rope
  • Using glue, colored plastic or artificial glass, you can make an unusual mosaic décor. A saturated color glue or varnish can be used for craquelure
  • If you have unnecessary metal corners without holes, you can also use them as a designer finish. Corner pads are suitable for joints of brutal wood products. The corners are fixed with glue
How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Looks fragile yet elegant
A coffee table is a decoration of a living room, which means that it should be beautiful, elegant or unusual, depending on the style, but in any case – made with high quality

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How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- The pallet can be painted or left in its natural form, installed on casters or small legs, made of glass or plywood
The pallet can be painted or left in its natural form, installed on casters or small legs, made of glass or chipboard

And some more useful tips

In making a table with your own hands, you can use additional decorative inserts. If you are using a cable reel as your base, it often has a center hole. You can put a tall vase with dried plants or flowers in it.

The material you choose to decorate must be abrasion resistant. The exceptions are elements designed to create the impression of a vintage product.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Because who doesn't have spare V8's in the closet
…Because who doesn’t have a spare V8 in their closet?!

Paint tinting can also act as a decorative design. You can create patterned surfaces, give natural streaks on wood surfaces, shade parts of the elements, creating the most advantageous look for your product.

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If the coffee table is unstable, then objects can slide off it, so all supports must be carefully adjusted in height. Embossed finishes can also be used as an anti-slip measure.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- Or an extra barrel
…Or an extra wine-barrel

For the manufacture of such models, completely different materials are used – your imagination will not let you limit your ideas. Try it, come up with options for furnishings, from this it will look not only stylish, but also completely new.

How to Make a Coffee Table -- Step-by-Step DIY Guide -- And that one is for true woodworking grand-masters
And that one is for the true woodworking grand-masters

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P.S. Bonus ideas for building DIY Coffee Tables and using them in the interior of your house or apartment:

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