My office is this close to being finished! Check back tomorrow for the big reveal! In the meantime, I needed a coffee table for in front of my pink sofa. I decided to challenge myself to make the cheapest coffee table I could. It sounded fun plus who doesn’t love an affordable project?!
how to make an affordable diy coffee table
Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:
If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. P.s. I’m trying to build that page up, so if you’d subscribe, I’d really appreciate that!SUPPLIES
- round wood top (mine is 24″)
- hair pin 16″ legs
- Savannah mist chalk paint
- Clear Satin top coat
- gold craft paint
step 1
Start by painting the round piece of wood with two coats of chalk paint. When the top is dry, finish with a clear satin coat.
For this project, the trickiest part was finding the round wood. I actually wanted a 30″ piece, but couldn’t find that size in stock anywhere. I also looked at Hobby Lobby and considered using a clock for a top. But that would have been $50 instead of $18 and it wasn’t the look I wanted. But I wanted to put that option out there, because it could be super cute!
Another option I tried was going to the thrift shop and looking through the furniture for a round coffee and re-using that top. I couldn’t find a round piece, but again, it’s worth looking into!
step 2
Next, paint the hair pin legs with gold craft paint. If it is warmer outside (I did this project in February), take your legs outside and spray paint them. The craft paint worked, but I literally did at least 15 coats fo paint to get full coverage.
step 3
Finally, turn the top upside down and attach the legs. It was a little tricky to figure out the placement. What worked was drawing a line on the bottom of the table and then using a 90 degree angle to equally space out the 4 legs. Use a drill bit to pre-drill the holes. Then use the screws included with the legs to attach them to the table top.
after
Here is the coffee table in all of her glory! I put her in the playroom for pictures since my office is still a mess. This was a super easy project and I am very happy with how it came out! I bought the $18 top and $20 legs for a $38 coffee table! I had the chalk paint on hand, but even if you need those supplies, this is still an affordable project!
So there you have it! A cheap and easy coffee table! I think experimenting with the paint on the top- maybe doing a pattern could be fun. Now I’m hooked! What inexpensive piece of furniture should I DIY next?!
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
If you love it, pin it!
