Ever since a friend of mine mentioned how they now have an office coffee station at their workplace, I’ve been on a mission lately to find the perfect tea station (coffee station – but I’m a tea drinker). I’ve been pinning images and looking up plans and even purchasing different trays at HomeSense, but nothing was ‘just right’.
So I decided to make myself one…
I’m super excited about this guy because
- I created him myself by just puttering away
- He takes up a small footprint on my counter, but packs a lot of storage space
- I sat down and learned a new CAD-type program for drawing out plans!
Check out my drawing from SketchUp!
Isn’t this BEEE-U-TI-FUL?!
I’m so proud of myself!
Need a metric version? I got ya’!
Okay, you want to know how to make it right?
I had a leftover chunk of 1 x 12 in the garage from my coffee table build last week, so I just worked with that. You don’t need a 1 x 12, it’s just what I had on hand.
Tea Station / Coffee Station Cut list:
- 5 1/2″ by 22″ (bottom) 13.97cm by 55.88cm
- 4 5/8″ by 22″ (top) 11.747cm by 55.88cm
- 11 1/4″ by 22″ (back) 28.575cm by 55.88cm
- 2 pieces at 4 3/4″ by 5 3/4″ (outsides) 12.065cm by 14.605cm
- 2 pieces at 4 1/8″ by 5 3/4″ (insides) 10.477cm by 14.605cm
- Optional: 1/2″ by 1/2″ by 20 1/2″ strip for the lip 1.27cm by 1.27cm by 52.07cm
Whew!
It’s a lot easier than it might appear…
I used a Kreg Jig to attach the back to my base board – but you can just as easily screw into the bottom board from the back as no one will see it whether you hang it or set it on a counter. Make sure you pre-drill all screw holes and use wood glue for extra strength.
Pre-drill, wood glue and then use 1 1/2″ wood screws to drill up from the bottom board into the outside pieces.
I have the inside dividers set back from the edge slightly because I wanted my tea station/coffee station to have a lip to keep contents inside. For my purposes, these inside boards are 1/2″ narrower than the outside ones to allow for the lip to snuggle in front of them neatly. You can skip this step and make your centre dividers the same width as your ends if you prefer.
Pre-drill, glue and screw into place from the bottom and the back of your tea station / coffee station. I used one screw up from the bottom and one in from the back.
Add your top/shelf to your build by again, pre-drilling the holes, gluing to the dividers and ends and then screwing into place with 1/2″ wood screws.
At this point you can use a bowl or other rounded edge to create your semi-circle. I used a string with a pencil tied to one end and centred it on my tea station base. From there I just swung the string around in a half-circle to create equal arches on each side. Not sure if I explained that clearly, but hopefully you get the idea.
You want the arch to start at the top of your shelf with the highest point being the height of your back piece of wood. Cut with a jig saw.
I used wood glue and finishing nails to attach my front lip to the piece and then I filled in all the little holes with wood filler and let set.
Sand your entire piece smooth – I used 60 grit up to 220 grit for a nice clean finish.
I used Varathane gel stain in Weathered Grey and once that was dry a coat of Varathane Triple Thick varnish.
Once it’s all said and done (and dry), style it to fit your needs:
If you use loose-leaf, the compartments are tall enough to house the tea canisters. If not, there’s plenty of room for tea bags (or both!)
I have a few flavours of loose leaf tea, so I opted to keep the mugs in the cupboard and use the entire caddy for the teas and accoutrements. If you’re a tea/coffee drinker, you can never have enough mugs. From deciding to put your photo on mugs, receiving one each year for your birthday, to buying a set of mugs at your local homeware store, you’ll probably have a favourite one that you’ll want to display.
You can see that it takes up a tiny little space on your counter, but lets you have all of the necessities for your “happy juice” in one organized spot.
I’m happy-dancing in my seat I’m so pleased!
You can build this in an hour – so it’s definitely a great beginner project to help build your confidence.
Made with my Rockwell Blade Runner X2
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