Coffee Table Blues

So I have been on the hunt for a coffee table. I am over 30 so I am tending to shy away from Ikea and partial board, I want real wood that will last and last. So finding a coffee table that I liked and wasn't going to break the bank was coming up empty. I finally decided that I could make my own. I went to Home Depot and discovered these awesome boards that are a tongue and groove for flooring. They run about $6.50 for 12 feet, so they are super affordable. Used some 4X4's for the legs and some 1X3's for the edges. I maybe have $100 in the whole thing and I made a huge mistake that worked out wonderfully in the end.

So here is my end product! I ended up with a 2'X4" because when it came down to it the 4'X4' was obnoxious lol.

  Since it was made in four independent pieces I took the other two off to make end tables at a later date.

Above is the awesome boards with slots that hook into each other and they hold great! The base was also to tall on the first large table, you only want about 18 inches tall for your couch height. I stained them a natural wood for the edges and slats are stained Red Oak, I lacquered them after I assembled the table with 5 coats. Warning* that stuff is not messing around when it says use in a ventilated area!

When I got the table down to two pieces I notched a 2" wide slot with a hand router that allowed me to lay the tops down in and they set nice and level. We love this and the fact that we could make it our own colors. When I finish the end tables I will add it onto this blog so you can see the finish product.