She Shed: DIY Coastal Coffee Table
I partnered with The Home Depot on my She Shed.
One of my favorite parts of the She Shed, other than the quiet, is the streamlined, coastal coffee table my husband created for this space.
There’s plenty of room for magazines, books, cups of coffee but the profile is slim. I told him what I wanted and the basic idea and he created a beautiful table. The She Shed isn’t very big – 10 x 12 – so a store bought coffee table wouldn’t fit with the love seat and other furniture.
Isn’t this table so pretty?
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it so thought we better share a little tutorial.
How to Build a Coastal Coffee Table
Materials
- Tools – Kreg Jig, Drill, Jigsaw and Mitre Saw
- 1 x 3, 1 x 4, and 2 x 2 poplar wood.
- Varathane Stain in Sunbleached
- Varathane Clear Poly
- 1 1/4″ Kreg screws
- Nickel Plated Shelf Support
- Carpenter’s Square
Method
Cut 5 lengths of 3 x 1 40 inches long.
Using the jig, drill pocket holes down both sides of three of the lengths and one side of two of them and then pocket holes at the end of each one.
Clamp them together and screw together.
Cut two lengths of 3×1 to be as long at the table is wide (about 17 3/4″ depending on the finished width of your wood), clamp to the ends and screw on using the pocket holes.
Cut two lengths of 4×1 to 38 3/4″ and two pieces to 11 1/4″ (this is to make the skirt). Drill pocket holes on each end and down one side of each.
Clamp two lengths of 2×2 1 1/2″ in from the sides of the table, then clamp and screw each of the shorter pieces of 4×1 1 1/2″ from the ends of the table. These should be snug between the lengths for 2×2. Use a square to ensure that the skirt is not tilting.
Do this at both ends. Then take two off cuts of 4×1 and clamp on the inside edge, at the ends of the attached skirt pieces, then clamp and screw the longer skirt piece 1 1/2″ from the side of the table (in between the two off cuts, again snugly fitting in place).
Cut four lengths of 2×2 to 17 1/4″ long, clamp them into the corners of the skirt and screw into place. These are the legs.
Repeat steps for the table top (to create the shelf), this one should be 3″ shorter and use only 4 planks rather than 5).
Once the shelf is made, use a jigsaw to cut inch and a half squares out of each corner of the shelf.
Drill a short hole on the two inside edges of the leg (at the desired height of your shelf). Our’s was 5 inches from the bottom of the leg. Push in the shelf supports, clamp the shelf into place and screw shelf supports into the shelf. (The table is upside down in the below picture).
The table is finished! Time to stain. Lightly sand the table, apply two coats of stain and two coats of poly on top.
Part of what I love about the table is the color. This stain is called Sunbleached by Varathane. It is a beautiful warm, muted coastal color. It looks so natural.
See what I mean?
Will you try this one at home? I hope so.
If you enjoyed this post then you might like these other DIYs from the She Shed:
Coastal She Shed Reveal and Sources
I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in this shed program. As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are in my own words. My post complies with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission.
It looks awesome….. Where did you get that huge seashell from ?
Terrific! What a great creative team. Have enjoyed the entire SHe Shed presentation. Question! Where ever did “She” find Good job. that large clam shell on the project tabke? Is it real? They are very rare.
Yea for handy husbands! Thanks for the instructions, it’s a great little table that looks like it could have come from Ballards. The stain gives a perfect driftwood look to new wood.