DIY Rustic Wood Coffee Table/Farm Table

For the past two years, Brett and I have been using an Ikea lack coffee table. It was a gift to us from my lovely Aunt C when we first moved in together, and it has served us well.

Ikea coffee table

I was, however, getting a little bored of it and wanted something more natural and warmer to give our living room a cozy feel. While exploring this super cute store in Va Highlands, we came across a black iron table that had wooden planks on the top and we both fell in love with it. One of us (for the life of me I can't remember if it was me or Brett) suggested that if we threw some wood on top of our Ikea table we might be able to recreate a similar look, and a new DIY project was born.

Here's how to do it:

First, we measured our table and talked about whether or not we wanted a few thicker boards or several thinner boards. We decided to go for smaller pieces, about 4 inches wide, to give it more of a pallet look. Then, we decided to lay them long ways on the table, mostly because our rug has horizontal stripes and I didn't want them going the same direction.

Next, we headed to Lowe's to gather supplies. We found some 1x4x8 pine boards for $3.50 a piece and had them cut them in half for us, so each board was 1x4x4. We also grabbed a rasp to round off the edges where they'd been cut. Fortunately, we already had stain from another DIY project and just decided to use the same one to spare us the $10-$12 dollars it would have cost us to buy a new stain (we are cheap). Besides, I wanted it to look slightly Moroccan or Spanish-mission style, and the stain we already had on hand was Mission Oak. Perfect!

We came home from Lowe's and laid out all of our boards on the coffee table to see what it would look like. Unfortunately, we discovered that our boards weren't actually 4 inches thick as the little sign had said. They were 3.5 inches thick. We kicked ourselves for not actually measuring the boards and trusting the stickers before heading back to Lowe's and picking up another one.

We then took all of the boards out on to our patio, which was covered with a tarp and drop cloth and temporarily converted into a little woodworking studio, and sanded the boards down with some sandpaper. Brett used the rasp to round off the edges where it had been cut.

Then we got to staining! We used a wide, foam brush. If you haven't stained something before, don't be intimated! It really isn't that difficult, especially if you're going for more of a rustic, imperfect look. And it is amazing how stain transforms wood. Our stain was a 2-in-1 with a polyurethane in it. But if your stain doesn't have polyurethane in it, you'd want to let your stain dry and then apply a coat of that before putting the boards on the table.

After letting the boards dry overnight, we positioned them on the coffee table and measured carefully to make sure the ends and sides hung off the table evenly. After checking a hundred times, we carefully lifted one of the end pieces up, covered the Ikea table in wood glue and pushed the board back down. Next, we lifted up the board next to it, covered the table and the edge of the board with wood glue, and pressed it on to the table and into the already-glued board next to it. We figured this would help us keep the rest of the boards straight and even, so we removed the rest of the them to the floor and did the rest one by one. I forgot to take pictures of this step because I was busy gluing!

Once we were finished, we took big stacks of books and put them on top of the table to weight the boards down and help them hold.

After waiting 24 hours and dying of anticipation, we removed the books. Ta da! New coffee table.

I love it! It is exactly what we were looking for!

In total, I would say this project only took us 1-2 hours. The cost?

Wood: $3.50 x 5 = $17.50
Rasp:  $5.99
Total: $23.49*

The best thing about this project, besides being an insanely cheap way to get a new coffee table, is that you could do it lots of different ways for lots of different looks. You could always pick a different stain, or paint the boards for a rustic, weathered look. And you could use any kind of coffee table base, paint it any color you choose, etc. I think a white base with a dark stain or a grayish, weathered paint job on the wood would look really cute. The possibilities are really endless.



*If you didn't already have stain, sandpaper, and paintbrushes on hand, you'd have to add about $12 for the stain and a few more for the paintbrushes and sandpaper.