DIY Farmhouse Coffee Table

So many people are loving the farmhouse look…and I couldn’t help but try my hand at making this DIY farmhouse coffee table with an old, outdated step table and some pine boards!

1. Purchased an Old Step Table

I found this old step table while perusing for deals at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore. This table was tagged for $10 but was 75% off, so I spent a whopping $2.50 on it. Initially, I wasn’t sure what I would do with it– maybe just paint it up and try to resell it– but really, how popular are these step tables these days??? So I watched a few Youtube videos and figured it couldn’t be that difficult to take the top “step”, or drawer off to make one flat surface to work with. I contemplated just painting it all, but then was inspired to add some pine boards to the top to give it that farmhouse look that everyone’s been into lately.

2. Removed the Top Drawer

This first step in my DIY farmhouse coffee table project was kind of fun to do. Who doesn’t like a little bit of destruction? I took the drawer out and saw that the front piece was screwed in. So I removed the screws and pried it off without too much difficulty. The rest of the drawer compartment was mainly glued on top, so it took a little more prying, and then it was off. There were those little connector pieces in each corner to help keep it together; three of them came off with the drawer. I easily sawed the fourth one off of the table.

3. Painted the Base

I used Rustoleum white chalk paint on the base of the table. This took several coats, including spot treating a few spots with some shellac. There was a little bit of bleeding through the chalk paint from the previous stain on the piece. So I sprayed a coat of Zinnser Shellac Primer to stop the bleeding from coming through.

I think I painted three layers of white in total, not including the shellac treatment. Then, I lightly distressed the edges and details of the legs on the piece to give it an aged look. I also applied Waverly’s Chalk Paint Varnish (from Walmart).

4. Cut the Pine to Fit the Top

I picked up three 1×4 pine boards from Menards. First I measured how long I wanted them to sit over the edge. Then, I cut six pieces of that length. I set them on top of the table base to make sure I liked how they looked.

5. Stained the Wood

The pieces of wood actually looked pretty nice au naturale when I placed them on top of the farmhouse coffee table base. But, I personally love darker wood with the white contrast. So I stained the six planks with Varathane Espresso Wood Stain. I also topped it off with three layers of Varathane Satin Polyurethane to protect it.

6. Attached the Boards to the Base

Lastly, I carefully placed the boards exactly how I wanted them to lay, and then nailed them in with my nail gun. All done! I was incredibly happy with how the DIY farmhouse coffee table turned out!

Love a Good Farmhouse DIY?

Check out a couple of my other farmhouse DIYs!

DIY Farmhouse Mirror

Ikea Kitchen Cart Hack