Saturday, October 18, 2014

Coffee Table Love

I love a good coffee table.
And it's not just because I love coffee.
But I do loooove coffee
Mainly, I love a good coffee table because it's a versatile
piece of furniture.
Our coffee table serves as a snack center, gaming table, foot rest,
homework area, and sometimes I even make it pretty
with seasonal decor.
Like this centerpiece from last year.


Our coffee table has to be a work horse.
Then there's the issue of boys.
Lots of boys.
Our boys, neighbor boys, boys that go to school with our boys, our friends' boys.
Our house is a haven for them.
So, when these boys are say.....having a WWE Smackdown-style
wrestling match or tickle fight, the furniture has to 
withstand getting knocked into.
Last year, I purchased this coffee table from Ikea.

This is the Lack coffee table.
Mr. Lack was replacing my all-time favorite Ashley coffee table
that was way too huge for our tiny German house.
I love the shelf and at almost a year old, it still looks pretty good.
The problem is, it's very lightweight.
I tried keeping my magazine collection on the shelf to weigh it down,
it didn't work.
After a while, I got fed up with it always being askew.
Or worse, my pretty decor getting knocked off of it because it wouldn't stay put.
You don't mess with my decor, mmmkay?
Buying a new coffee table just wasn't going to happen.
It wasn't until hubs and I took a trip to
a local home improvement store that building a coffee table started looking good.
We found a piece of butcher block and I got all giddy.
I was bouncing around like my 13 year old self at a New Kids concert.
Clearly, we weren't leaving the store without that butcher block.
Oh yeah, we were going custom!
Hubs and I are a dynamic DIY duo. He builds, and I finish.
It's a good gig.
Hubby basically took my ideas, took some measurements and started building.
He's sort of dreamy like that.


To create an x-leg a notch had to be cut out of each piece,
so they would fit inside one another.
Like this.

The 4 corner legs were put on first and the x-legs were attached
with 1.25" wood screws in counter sunk holes.

Hubs did a great job building this beauty!

I wanted a rustic look, so I didn't sand any of the wood perfectly smooth.
And I left the knots and imperfections in the butcher block alone.
To me, imperfect=character. 

Wanna see it?


Hello, my pretty.


Gorge!!
I applied 5 coats of paste wax to this to give it a nice (protective) sheen.


See what I mean about the imperfections? Character.
The legs were painted with Annie Sloan Old White and lightly sanded
before I applied Valspar water-based antiquing glaze with a damp cloth
to get the layered, aged look.
Now that the project is finished,
I'm feeling some mad coffee table love.


Here's what we used:
*Butcher block 31.5"x 23.75"
*4 pieces of 2x2 cut to 17.5" length
*4 pieces of 1x2 cut to 28" length, notched in the center to create an X
*4 pieces of 1x2 cut to 21.5" length, notched in center to create an X
*2 pieces 1" trim cut to 24.75"
*2 pieces 1" trim cut to 16.5"
*1.25" wood screws
*8mm countersink drill bit
*Wood glue
*Merlot water-based stain
*Minwax paste furniture wax
*Annie Sloan Old White
*Valspar water based antique glaze

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7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I sure wish there was a "like" button...I'd push it a hundred times! ;) I LOVE this coffee table lady! You and your husband ROCK at the DIY!!!!

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  3. I love it!! I can see every holiday represented on that beautiful coffee table.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you mama! I do have plans for the holidays ;-)

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  4. You are so creative and I am glad to read your blog again. Keep on and looking forward for more. Love it .

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