Coffee table/Ikea hack

My family room had a coffee table problem.  I had some...just the wrong ones.  They were all wrong for my giant, overstuffed, ugly comfy sofas.

I was looking for something a little bigger and lot more rustic.  I also wanted something with a shelf underneath to hold baskets and help control toys/clutter.   Oh, and cheap, of course!  While searching Kijiji I wasn't finding anything that fit that criteria.  But I did find these cheap glass tables that could work with a little tweaking.

(these are not my actual tables. I forgot to take a before picture with the glass and I found these online)

Before buying them I made sure that the glass could easily be removed for what I had planned.  It was only held on by suction cups (that are removable) so I was good to go.  I hit up Lowes for some 1x6's, wood stain and some extra sandpaper because I was going to need it.

I measured out the lengths and widths that I would need for the boards to be exactly lined up with the edge of the frame.  After cutting everything (using the table saw) I distressed the wood a bit by bashing it with a hammer, poking nails in it, and smashing screws in it.  Then I started sanding.  And sanding, And sanding.  It took a while to sand all 13 boards smooth.  After all that sanding I was sore ready to stain with Minwax's Chestnut in a gel stain.


I attached the boards together using a strip of 1x2 underneath.  I cut the 1x2 to fit exactly into the frame so the top doesn't slide around.  If not being  attached to the frame starts to be a problem then Mr. 50 is going to weld on some little brackets for me.

I love the size and storage they provide.  A big improvement over my tiny, french provincial tables that just didn't suit my family room.

After a little time passed,  I added some black upholstery tacks (found at Lowes) to ends of the coffee table.  I like added detail.






So now I don't have a coffee table problem anymore but I might have an ikea overload problem.  Between the rug, the picture frames and now the tables it's starting to look like an ikea catalog in here :/

My favorite Party Rocker: