DIY Coffee Table for Under $100
A few months ago, I looked at our apartment and started to feel frustrated. For years, David and I have been renting apartment after apartment in each new city we have lived in. With each move, furniture was left behind for one reason or another and replaced by another piece that may or may not fit the current aesthetic. Before, I had always appeased my feeling of frustration by telling myself that each apartment is temporary, and in the next place we live, I will care more about the decor and the furniture we invest in.As of last September, we've been in our apartment for two years. Wake up, Erica, this isn't temporary anymore :)We have plenty of space, which worked out well when we found out we were pregnant. Our apartment has a master suite and a loft with a half bath - which we've morphed into a nursery. Our living room and kitchen are a huge space as well, and we even have outdoor space. (After some preliminary house searches online, our apartment is actually larger than some houses in Charlottesville that sell for way above our budget! So I can't complain!)So with this realization, I looked at David and told him I was finally ready to make our house a home. Let's start decorating and investing in some forever furniture. We had one caveat - no sofa until we buy a home. Until we see what kind of space we are working with in our forever home we didn't want to spend the money on a sofa that may or may not work. The first thing I started searching for was a coffee table.I had some qualifications for a coffee table - I knew it had to be sturdy, and all one piece, since Finn is starting to pull himself up on things and a lightweight or moveable table could be dangerous. I tend to lean towards wooden, rustic decor - maybe because I grew up in the country - so glass and metal were easily scrapped. Once we started looking at wooden tables, I became even more frustrated. Each wood color was different from brand to brand, and if we wanted to add end tables, and eventually other furniture in the same space, the color would have to match!This is when David offered to build a table! I was on board from the moment he offered. David is a perfectionist, so even without any formal knowledge of woodworking, I had faith that once he put his mind to it, he would build a really beautiful table. It made it even better that it was his idea and he was so excited, too. I hardly had to talk him into it :)So we picked out a table we loved and David found the plans online. We headed to Lowe's - Finn in tow - and bought all the wood and materials. We walked out paying just under $100! David built the table in just over two days. (His dad bought him his very own miter saw for Christmas, too, after seeing the awesome work he did. Now he can build me more goodies!) I found the color I wanted him to paint it, and he did such a beautiful job making my idea into a reality.
David followed the instructions from RogueEngineer.com. Color is Minwax Wood Finish Classic Gray 271.