DIY Console Table
If you can't find a console table that fits your design vision, style, or budget, make one! We cannot promise perfection, but we can guarantee that you can achieve a console table that fits your budget and design vision.
After scouring the internet looking for a console table for a bedroom refresh project, we did not find any console tables that fit the design style and budget! Well, we did find one console table that fit the design style but it was definitely over the budget ($2,000). Below is the console table that was used as inspiration to create a custom console table for this bedroom refresh project.
Materials + Tools
Red Oak Plywood 3/4 4x8 (Quantity x1)
Birch Board 1x2-R/L (Quantity x5)
Aluminum Angle Bracket (Quantity x4)
Drill
Miter Saw
Circular Hand Saw
Orbital Sander
Varathane Natural Wood Stain 1 Quart (Quantity x1)
Behr Polyurethane Semi-Gloss 1 Quart (Quantity x1)
Foam Mini Paint Roller 2-pack (Quantity x1)
Foam Brush (Quantity x2)
Building the Structure/Frame
The structure/frame of the console table is perhaps the most important part of creating this piece of furniture. After purchasing all necessary materials and tools, we sketched the structure/frame of the console table with all necessary measurements to ensure that it would fit in the designated area of the bedroom.
Once we finalized the sketch, we began building the structure/frame of the console table. We used a round hand saw to cut the plywood. From this single plywood board, we cut out the legs, table top, two side support boards, and 5 shelves for the console table.
Once all the pieces were cut, we used angle brackets to connect the furniture pieces as well as provide strength and support. We drilled the angle brackets onto the wood. We used two angle brackets for each side of the table legs to connect it to the table top. Using two angle brackets for each table leg ensured the joint supports were secure, strong and firm.
Building the Other Components of the Console Table
After building the structure/frame of the console table, we cut and nailed the pieces of birch board over the thin edges of the frame to give it the illusion of using a thicker wood frame. This is a great hack to reduce cost but still ensure the furniture meets the design style and vision.
Then, we began to add the side structure of the console table to hold and support the outer shelves. These side structures are necessary to support the weight of the items that will be placed on the shelves.
We proceeded with adding the shelves and nailing them to the side boards. The birch boards added additional support to the outer shelves because they were cut to allow the shelves to be inserted into the birch boards.
The remaining pieces of birch board were nailed to the edges of the shelves.
After we finished assembling the console table, the remaining steps to finish the console table were to sand the entire console table, add one coat of natural oak stain and two coats of semi-gloss polyurethane.
Total Cost of DIY Console Table Project
The total cost of building this console table was $176.59! The cost of the project includes all materials and tools listed above except for the following: miter saw, circular hand saw, drill and orbital sander.
Final Thoughts
This project took approximately one week to complete! Initially, taking on this project was intimidating but once all the pieces came together, I definitely felt that it was feasible and achievable. I do have previous experience using all the tools listed above. Therefore, you may want to take on smaller projects first to gain the confidence and skills to use the round hand saw and miter saw. You definitely will need a helping hand. I was fortunate to have my dad help me with this project! I couldn't be happier with how this console table came out! Another DIY project checked off our list! We cannot wait to take on more DIY projects! Let us know what you think of the console table by commenting below. Thank you for reading!
-Maria
