$20 Simple DIY Side Table

Hello everyone and happy Groundhog Day! I heard that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning which means six more weeks of Winter–whomp whomp. Although living in Colorado we can usually plan on having snow well into May no matter what!

Since moving our DVD storage cabinet down to the basement the side of our couch was feeling pretty lonely and was in need of a table.

I shopped around to find the perfect one to put there but couldn’t find one that I really liked for a reasonable price. I almost got one that I found on clearance at Homegoods but one of the corners on the top was broken and even though I like shabby that made it a little too shabby for my taste! So I made plans to build my own and couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Supplies Used: (Affiliate links may be provided for convenience.  For more info, see my full disclosure here.) 

• 18″ round pine board (or use a jigsaw to cut one from plywood)
• 1- 8′ 1×2
• 2- 8′ 1x3s
• Liquid Nails
• Wood Screws
• Wood Filler
• Orbital Sander
• Medium Grit Sandpaper
• Rust-Oleum Wood Stain in Kona
• Paint
• Chalky Clear Sealing Wax

Optional:

• Scrapwood for faux drawer
• Pull
• 8.5″ x 8.5″ wood for table bottom

I began by cutting four 1x2s at 22″ and four 1x3s at 22″ to make the legs.

I used liquid nails to attach the side of the 1x2s to the 1x3s.

For the sides I cut four 1x3s at 10″ and four at 8.5.”

Once the legs were dry I used the 10″ pieces to connect two legs together, one at the top and one 2.5″ from the bottom.

I had the hubby secure these with wood screws and then attach the two sides to each other using the 8.5″ pieces.  He also attached the round pine board to the top with wood screws (forgot to snap a picture!)

If you stop here you will spend about $20 in lumber and have a nice basic table.  Since I have a huge stockpile of scrapwood I decided to add a few things!

I first attached a 1×4 using liquid nails to one side to act as a faux drawer.

The hubby then attached a 1×10 board cut down to 8.5″ x 8.5″ with wood screws to serve as the table bottom. You could also use two 1x3s (which measure 2.5″) and a 1×4 (which measures 3.5″) to achieve the same thing.

He countersunk all of the visible the screws so that I could go back and fill them with wood filler.  After the wood filler dried I used my oribital sander to quickly sand the entire piece down. 

Since I wanted a distressed look I first stained the table with Rust-Oleum Wood Stain in Kona which is a nice dark brown color.

Once the stain was dry I painted 3 coats of white paint over it and then used a medium grit sandpaper to  pull out the dark brown stain out from underneath.  I finished it off by applying a coat of my favorite wax (Chalky Clear Sealing Wax by Valspar) and adding this pull from Hobby Lobby.

I just love this adorable little table!

I feel like the faux drawer really adds character to it and am glad that I decided to add it.

I’m telling you guys, building your own furniture is sooooo addicting!  Once you start you will have a hard time justifying buying new furniture because of the money savings and personalization that building your own offers.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I’ll be back next week!!