Since we moved last August, we’ve been entertaining a lot more than we could have imagined.  I’m grateful for that because we really enjoy having friends & family over.  And because we love to eat & drink.  Having all these parties and get togethers made me realize that something was missing in our dining room.  At first I couldn’t quite put my finger on it; not until things died down a little after the holidays, then it hit me.

I need something to put things on in there.  Okay that sounds a little… off.  But it’s literally what was missing.  I was either always setting the table for family style meals or setting up the food buffet style on the kitchen bar.  I needed a place to put food, extra plates (glasses, silverware, etc), drinks, dessert, or whatever that didn’t either:

  1. Completely overwhelm the space or
  2. Look ANYthing like a china cabinet (SO not my thing)

I finally decided on a console table. THIS console table.

Originally, I started looking for a console table that was fairly simple but very well made and would compliment my WorldMarket Verona dining table.  So you must be wondering why I didn’t just get a matching Verona console or buffet.  That would be because there isn’t 1.  Besides, I’m just not a matchy matchy kind of lady anyway.  I rarely use sets of anything and especially not all in 1 space.

I was looking mostly online when I’d check my email, since I get so many from vendors and makers.  Occasionally when I was out I’d check out some of my favorite spots and consignment & thrift shops.  But there was nothing that I just had to have.  Eventually I got a sign – I was getting the same email like 10 times a day from Pier1 about a location across town that was closing.  Finally I decided to hit up that store because there must be something at that sale for me.  Why else would I get notified 10 times a day?

And SCORE!!  Kinda.  I had to tear myself away from the store because there was so much potential in so many things – fixtures & fittings, baskets & bins, hooks & panels, samples and… FOCUS.

I ended up with a solid wood table top that they were using as a fixture.  $20!!!

Table top at Pier1

1 problem – it needs legs.  I had so many ideas, none of them turned out too well.  I tried:

  1. Bookcases – thinking I’d get sturdy legs AND some storage.  Fail.  Everything I found was either too big or not sturdy enough for the table top.
  2. Actual table legs.  I got these really cute trestle legs from Ikea.  I could only order them online so it was taking a chance.  Fail.  These were both too big (shame on me for not paying attention to the dimensions) and WAY to lightweight.
Underside of table top

Honestly, I found lots of very nice options for table legs but I really needed something with simple clean lines.  That’s a little harder to find – the bulk of what’s available is more like turned legs, carved legs, farmhouse, tapered.  None of which fit the bill.  When I did find some, they didn’t fit the bill either ($$$$$).

And that’s where the good old google search came in and turned me on to Ana White‘s plans for an X-base desk.  Perfect.  Made very much like my dining table.  AND since it would be built to spec, I know it will work with my tabletop (that had been laying on the floor for a month by this time).

I was so excited to do this!  My power tools, especially my miter saw, have not seen nearly enough action around here.  In the meantime I got so distracted by all the great stuff I could build or ask my DH to build – like this planter box – that I never got around to actually DOing it.  Until now….

What once was this:

Is now this console table:

Console Table

And this planter box.

Making My DIY Console Table

Most of the items that I needed to build the table were already in my garage except the wood.  That started out as the backyard deck, which we removed and have been using to make other things that we like SO much more than that deck.  We’ll get back to that in another post.

I won’t list all the materials and tools to build this table, Ana White takes care of all that AND the plans.  What I will do is list out the things that I used that are different from the original plans.  And how I modified the plans to work with the wood we already had, making my project total cost $20 instead of the $55 (which is already a steal!).  This is so old school, I could not resist taking a {really bad cell phone} pic!

The best laid plans

These clearly aren’t complete because the bottom shelf and braces are not there, but I was so tired of the math and just wanted to start cutting some wood!

Materials I used:

  • reclaimed wood
  • tabletop ($20 @ Pier1 store liquidation sale)
  • wood putty
  • wood glue
  • 2″ & 3″ screws
  • Minwax stain in English Chestnut 233
  • Minwax Oil-Modified Polyurethane (Satin)

Tools I used:

  • Ryobi Miter Saw
  • B&D Power Drill
  • B&D Mouse

**Note: I did NOT use a Kreg jig because I do not own a Kreg jig and although I think it would have made this build a lot easier, I could not justify the purchase not knowing if I would ever use it again.  Now that I have completed this project and loved (almost) every minute of it, I think I see much more woodworking in my future especially with all the great plans I’ve been pinning for all kinds of projects.

A few of my favorite little things about this table:

Details
Date stamp on 4×4 gives the table a little character.
  1. I thought the different wood grains would drive me batty so I wanted to paint the base.  DH wanted stain and he was right to insist;  the different wood grains turns out to be 1 of my favorite things about this piece. Also, I definitely was NOT trying to match the color of the table top. This was the stain I already had and it just turned out that way.
  2. Speaking of the wood, there’s this date on of the 4×4’s – it would have been covered up by paint and I probably would have tried to stain it dark enough to not show.  Glad I didn’t.  I LOVE IT!
  3. I know it’s American made because I made it… in my garage… with wood from my backyard and old bed slats.

One last thing I had to do when I was making this… I rounded off all the corners and edges so that they would not be quite as sharp.  This wood is so thick and heavy that you wouldn’t want a big toe (or any toe) to meet up with it in the dark, especially with pointy or sharp angled edges.  TRUST me, you don’t want it with this wood.  At least if it’s a little rounded, those toes won’t be too hurt if they happen to get stubbed.

And here she is in our “new” dining room. ❤️

I needed a console table and I built a console table.  Problem solved and my money is still in my purse where it belongs!  So, what do you think?  How’d it turn out?

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