diy rustic coffee table

Remember our desk that I shared over the summer? Well, Al got together with our friend Joe (who built the desk) and they built the worlds best coffee table. Like with the desk, I shared plans with them from Ana White as inspiration. They adjusted the size a bit to ensure it fit with our space and they also decided to put trim around the perimeter to give it a more finished look.

Once they finished building the table we filled any holes with wood filler, conditioned the wood and stained it. We used Minwax’s Honey Stain.

I find the easiest way to use stain is to rub it on the wood with rags. Others say to paint it on with a brush and then smooth out with a rag. We just went right for the rags and it covered incredibly well. I tend to find that stain is so thin that it spreads very unevenly when using a brush. Hey, to each their own though!

I couldn’t find casters large enough so I had to settle on some that were smaller (because we were hosting Thanksgiving and we needed this table done!). It’s still in the plan to add larger ones down the road. The table took a full day to build and then another few days to stain, let dry, etc. It’s a great piece, just like our desk, and I know it’ll fit our style for years and years to come. We love the versatility of it (why aren’t all coffee tables on wheels?!) and the way it fits perfectly with our couch.

I love the added storage underneath as well, where we’ll likely store blankets, games or magazines. At some point I’ll get a tray for the top to toss the TV remotes onto. We’ve had a few spills on it and there was no damage done due to the fact that we did use a stain and polyurethane in one. We do still want to seal it for extra surface protection and when we do I’ll share that process.