This article was updated on 03/06/19. Happy Ash Wednesday!
When considering the interior of your home, there are many areas in which you can save money by rolling your sleeves up and getting down to a spot of DIY.
First, let’s look the living room, family room, or sitting room. As the room in which you’re likely to spend a great deal of your leisure time, as well as time entertaining guests, it’s important that you feel at ease with the look and feel of it.
A simple and effective tip for tackling your living room is to pay attention to the central or focal point of the room, which is usually the coffee table.
A modern coffee table can transform a living room, and most are not complicated to make, depending on the design, as long as you take your time and do it right. A lot of what you can accomplish as a woodworker depends on your ability and tool collection.
That being said, you will need a work space. In most cases, although it is a great DIY project, it is not a one-day deal; you might assemble it in one day but finishing takes a while. Ideally you have wood shop or hobby area already. If not, the garage will do.
Furniture Design is the First Step
Before beginning building your project, consider what wood species, finish, and design of coffee table will fit with the look of your home and your personality. Make sure it is of a good grade so that it’s durable.
For example, consider the coffee table shown above. This one was designed and built as an abstract model of a fishing boat on the ways (where a boat is pulled from the water to make repairs). This is the late Keith York’s work.
York was a master carpenter as well as the owner of the Chagres Queen, a fishing boat moored at the Balboa Yacht Club in the Canal Zone. He even drug the cocobolo tree that he made it from out of the Panama jungle with his old Dodge pick-up truck.
And consider how you will finish it. Will you paint it (that makes me cringe when working with attractive hardwood), or finish it with or without stain, and then shellac, tung oil, polyurethane, or something else? This will affect the type of wood you choose.
Decide on Your Method of Joinery
This will help you not only to decide what materials to buy, but also whether you need to buy any additional tools. Of course, certain designs lend themselves to certain methods. For example, for the boat-inspired table at the beginning of this article, dowels may or may not be the best choice. Consider your options:
Dowels. This is old school. It is an effective method but can go wrong without a drill press and precise measuring.
Mortise and tenon. A very tight and secure joint (as well as decorative in all its variations), but you will need a jig for professional “looking” results.
Kreg K3 Master System. This is a very handy pocket-joinery jig. It makes angled blind joints that don’t require glue, so it is ideal for both new construction and lightning-fast furniture repair.
Biscuit joinery. This tool makes accurate, strong, and tight joints.
Design, Make a Cut List, Cut, and Assemble
Once you have selected your table design and are ready to begin, make a cut list of materials and shop for them. If you opt for pine, poplar, or red oak and basic hardware you should feel at home at Home Depot.
However, for a more exotic hardwood, and specialty hardware, you’ll have to go to a local specialty store or shop online at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware.
Once you’ve cut your components, now it’s time to begin assembly. Never just start screwing or gluing and clamping. Always dry-fit everything and make any adjustments needed. This is especially important with joinery such as mortise and tenon.
I would advise laying out all the parts in front of you on the floor and making sure you’ve got all the wood components and hardware you need. It’s better to discover that you are missing something vital before you begin than when you are halfway through the DIY process and knee-deep in the process!
Before you start, ensure you also have all the tools you need for the job. A keen DIYer will soon build up a collection of all the staple tools needed to complete any task.
Refer to the instructions on any new power tool as you go and take your time. This way, you’ll soon have a homemade coffee table that’s the pride and joy of your living room.
After assembly and prior to sanding, be sure to make up some homemade wood putty for the most perfect match you could hope for. Did you enjoy this article on building a coffee table and find it helpful? If so, please share the link with friends and social media. And if you have some related ideas please share them with our readers in the comment section below. Thanks for visiting!
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About the Webmaster:
Kelly R. Smith was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation and financial and energy trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.
Kelly R. Smith was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation and financial and energy trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at 
