How I created a column coffee table using just a concrete form tube and round wood top for my living room at a fraction of the cost of high-end brands.
What inspired this coffee table DIY?
I'm sure you've seen coffee tables similar to this before. They typically go for hundreds or thousands of dollars and can have one to four columns as the base. I liked the idea of having columns but also liked the pedestal style (one large column) as well. The ones I saw were either too expensive or not exactly what I wanted, so I figured out how to do it myself. I took the coffee tables I found from other brands as inspiration but my version ended up costing only about $50!
The coffee tables I got inspiration from ranged from around $500 to $1,000.
Anya Travertine Coffee Table from Anthropologie is $998
Mixed Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table from West Elm is $699
Volume Round Pedestal Coffee Table from West Elm is $499
Mesa Round Coffee Table from Burke Decor is $799
Project Development
My coffee table transformed a lot throughout the process of creating it, mainly with the medium I used for the columns. I saw people use all sort of materials such as pvc pipes or planter pot bases but I knew those options would require extra tools, less simplicity, and more money. While perusing Home Depot, I saw the concert form tubes and it instantly hit me that that would be the best option to create the columns. Not only is it easy to cut, but it is also sturdy and comes in plenty of size options depending on the desired size of the table.
While most of the coffee tables I took inspiration from were natural wood, I knew I had to paint mine because of the concrete form tube. I knew I wanted a shade of "greige" to go with my neutral color palette instead of just white or black. Greige is exactly what it sounds like - a combination of grey and beige. It offers a richer color and goes with both warm and cool color schemes. I ended up choosing Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige.
Materials
8" diameter x 48" length Concrete Form Tube - cut into three 16" long pieces
Construction Adhesive or Liquid Nails (you could probably use hot glue here if you need to)
Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige in Satin (I ended up getting two sample sizes of this paint so it might have made more sense to get a pint)
Foam Brush
Foam Roller
Varathane Clear Matte Polyurethane Topcoat (you can choose whichever finish you like but I recommend satin as another good option)
Corner Braces (there are many different options)
3/4" Screws (I used this length to prevent going through the wood top)
Cordless Drill
Mitre Saw
How To
Cut the concrete form tube into three, 16" long pieces using a mitre saw. If your mitre saw blade isn't long enough to cut through the 8" diameter, you can simply rotate the tube as the blade cuts through it.
Attach the three concrete form tube pieces together on the edges to form a triangle using construction adhesive. This step ensures that the pieces are evenly spaced amongst each other and prevents any shifting from occurring later on.
Attach one corner brace to each of the three pieces of the concrete tube using a cordless drill. To do this, place one side of the corner brace into the inside edge of the tube and drill the screws into place from the outside to prevent the point of the screws from sticking out.
Paint the legs your desired color. I used Perfect Greige by Sherwin Williams. The concrete form tube material absorbs a lot of paint so I ended up using three coats and had to touch up some spots with a fourth coat. If you use a darker color, or spray paint, you likely won't need as much.
Paint the wood circle. I used a foam roller for the top as it allows for a more even coat and prevents brush strokes, and then used a foam brush for the edges. Feel free to use a brush for the whole process if you want. I ended up using two coats of paint on the wood top.
Seal the wood top using a polyurethane topcoat. I used two coats of the Varathane Clear Matte Polyurethane Topcoat. I recommend using matte or satin as the finish. You can use high gloss if you want but the legs end up being matte, unless you seal them too, so the matte or satin finish looks more cohesive.
Attach legs to the wood top.
Place the wood circle on a flat surface (top side down)
Mark the center of the underside of the wood top so you know where to place the legs.
Attach the legs to the wood top using the corner braces.
There you have it! There are many variations of this you can try - leave the leg pieces separate and make them more spaced out, or even use different size materials. I hope this inspired you to create a coffee table of your own.
More DIY Furniture Projects!
Comments