If you’ve been following along for awhile, you’ll remember the rustic X side table I built a few months back via plans from Ana White.

The plan was to build a coordinating coffee table as well, but first we had to wait for the furniture to arrive, then figure out how to adjust her plans to make a table that would fit our space and then…

well honestly, I just needed to buckle down and build it.

Finally, after months of hemming and hawing between this and one other version I’d seen online, I bit the bullet and built!

The original plans from Ana White were a bit small for the space I had in mind. (click image for link to plans)

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For my family room, with my ginormous sofas, I needed a table that was 60″ long and 33″ wide – so I had to make some adjustments to Ana’s plan.

If you want to build a larger version of this DIY coffee table, follow Ana’s plans, but use the below as your cut list:

The other adjustment that I made to Ana’s plans was to use 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws throughout.

DIY Rustic X Coffee Table - Build your own coffee table in an afternoon!

The only tricky part to this version of the DIY coffee table was adjusting the base shelf to fit my larger dimensions – for my table I used two 1 x 12″ boards cut to 49″ long, but then I had a 2.5″ gap between the boards.  We shaved down the extra 1 x 12″ boards we had in the garage to give me the strip I needed to fill the gap, and then inserted it in the centre of the shelf with biscuit joints.

I’m wondering if a better, and cheaper, alternative would be to buy 1 x 8″ boards (which are really about 7.5″ wide and then rip each of them down by 1 1/2″ for a nice uniform look?

One other little “glitch” to be aware of is that your angles on a larger table won’t be the same as Ana’s plans.  To compensate for this I laid my 2×2 boards across the gap I wanted to fill (the X section) and then drew a line on either end of the boards.  Not technical or mathematically specific – but they did fit perfectly, so I’m going to go with it.  Cut your long board first and glue and screw it into place, then lay the two sections of 2×2 over the balance of the x and draw your lines/angles.

Truth be told, my mitre saw doesn’t have a 60 degree angle marked on it, so it was going to be a “cut and pray” situation either way. lol

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Either way, you’ll want to use a Kreg Jig and pocket screws PLUS wood glue to give your bottom shelf strength.  You really don’t see the centre seam whichever way you go.

This was my point of panic – remember that side table?  The one where I stained and sanded it down 3 times to try and find the “right” finish and then it still ended up off after varnish was added? I didn’t want to go through that again, so I thought I’d test out a new product (for me) and go with a gel stain from Varathane in “Weathered Grey”.  (You’ll use less than a pint)

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I was still looking for that Restoration Hardware colour, but without having to stain and sand it off three times to get there – this seemed an easier route to go.

It did yellow somewhat after I used the triple thick varnish – but that just warmed up the colour slightly and overall I’m pretty pleased.  (You’ll use about half a quart of varnish and that’s with two coats on the table top and shelf)

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I haven’t decided if I’ll add the decorative hardware on the corners just yet.

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It’s big, it’s solid and it’s heavy.

Best part – it’s perfect for my space!

Check that – the best part is that I made a custom piece of furniture (do you believe I DIY’d a coffee table?!) for a grand total of $80 Cdn!

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I had friends over for tea yesterday and it was so nice to have a piece of furniture that everyone could reach to put their cups on AND still have room for two trays of my Chai Cupcakes (recipe coming soon).

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I think I might need a larger tray to go on my DIY coffee table…  strictly for the aesthetics of proportion and not at all because this was so easy I can’t stop building.

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Have a great one!

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66 Responses

  1. Shel,
    That table looks amazing! Great job! You must be so proud and your family must be very impressed Nice job!

  2. Any chance that you’d be willing to measure the angles for the X? I am making the table as we speak and habit some trouble with the exact angles.

    1. This is going to sound absolutely idiotic – but I can’t remember how to use a protractor! (I’m so embarrassed!) Do you put it on a flat angle and then measure the side opposite? What I did, and I think this will work better than my fumbled numbers, was to lie your wood pieces across the centre section and trace a line (underneath) where the wood meets the bottom and top boards. Repeat this with the half-x pieces as well. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help! (I guess I really should have paid more attention in high school geometry).

  3. Hoorrayy for you!! this table if gorgeous and will be mine soon! thx for the plans. will fit perfectly in my family room.

    1. Sorry, you were asking about wood, not wood glue. Duh me. The wood is just basic builder’s grade pine from Home Depot. Nothing fancy, no special cuts – the same boards used for framing.

  4. I made this coffee table. It is very simple and can be improved with a simple change in the joints. The 2x2s can be let into the 2x4s in stead of using the Kreg jig. It gives you the added sheer strength as well as the possibility of a nice design alteration. I’d be glad to share pictures.

    1. I used the Kreg Jig to make pocket screw holes on the underside of the bottom shelf. I think I have about 5 pocket screws on the long sides and maybe 3 or 4 on the shorter sides.

  5. Dumb question, but how do you build something like this out of 2×4’s or 2×6’s and not have it look obviously like it was made from them? Those pieces of wood at Home Depot all have the corners rounded off. Did you go through each board and shave off a little to make nice sharp corners?

    1. I didn’t, but a lot of people do. If you want a smooth top (so a bit less rustic looking), you’d run each top board down the table saw and shave about 1/8″ off of each side. Run a bead of wood glue between the boards and clamp them together tightly before screwing down. This will give you a smoother finish, but will take a bit of the farmhouse look away. Send photos – I’d love to see how yours turns out!

  6. How did you mount the 2×6 table top to the frame? I’m at the point now I have to mount the top and can’t figure out the right way.

  7. This is awesome! I just came from Ana’s blog site getting plans for some outdoor chairs for our new pavilion going up in our backyard next week. This will be our outdoor table, glad I ran across this. You did a beautiful job on this, I just love the rustic look. Can’t wait to get started and like you said, it won’t cost a fortune to make something great. I’ll come back and post as soon as I get this project done. Thanks!!!

  8. Table looks great!!! Quick question – where did you buy the decorative corner hardware at? My husband just built this same table but he’s having a hard time finding the corner hardware. Any suggestions?

  9. Awesome article! and awesome table plans. I recently came across 16k woodworking plans myself, costed some money. But you might be interested in 50 free plans, just go to my website and you will see the link there if interested. Anyways, keep up the awesome work :)

  10. Looks great! Building this myself and had a quick question. When you used the varnish, did you only use it on the 1×12 shelf, or did you do the 2×2 frames as well? Also, whats your thoughts on using a semi gloss finish instead of clear satin for it? Do you think it would be too much for the piece?
    Thanks a lot for your help!

    1. I used it on the entire build. If you only use it in sections, those sections will look warmer (more yellow) than the uncoated sections and it will be noticeable. A semi-gloss finish would be nice and probably not a huge leap from a satin. I think you’d lose the “rustic” aspect if you went gloss though.

  11. So glad i found this site! Some guy on facebook is building this table and selling them on facebook market and he used the same exact pic! Awesome site!

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