Young House Love

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How To Build A Console Table: It’s DONE!

Well, it took us 3+ weeks, but our 12 foot long DIYed living room console table is officially finished!

ConReveal Full Room

ConReveal Full Side1

Before I get into any more pics of the final piece in place, let me back up a bit and recap some of the most recent constructions steps that got us there (since the last time you saw our console table it was stained but still topless). As you know, we had to turn to Plan B for the top since the pallets didn’t play nice (more on that here) so after lots of driving around town in search or something reclaimed that we could use (where sadly nothing was the right width or available in enough bulk) Plan B ended up being “buy new wood and make it look old.” Hence this pile in my basement:

ConBuild Wood Supplies

After trying out a few different combinations of boards on the floor of Home Depot, I discovered that I could achieve a near-perfect width by placing four 1 x 4″ boards (in plain whitewood) sandwiched between two 1 x 2″ boards (in poplar). This arrangement, by total accident, ended up looking great since the poplar 1 x 2″s around the perimeter inadvertently added a nice border that would match the 1 x 2″ poplar framing that I used on the front of the bookshelves. Score.

Since we wanted to lay the boards on top in a staggered almost brick-like pattern, I cut all of my 1 x 4″ boards into two-foot lengths to start.

ConBuild Cut Wood Stack

The next step was to distress each of the boards to make them look more aged and less straight-from-Home-Depot. This process, as well as staining them, is a whole story in itself so we’re going to do a follow-up post with an avalanche of details (it’ll have some video, which I have yet to edit – so that’s why you’re getting this reveal post first). But here’s a glimpse of the whole distressing process to tide you over (it involved a variety of things from hammering dents and dropping a bag of screws to making line imprints and roughing things up with pointy objects).

ConBuild Distress Grid

Once I had distressed all 27 pieces of wood (yep, over two dozen) Sherry worked her stain magic on them. Again, we’ll get into this more in a follow up post full of details (yup, there’s some staining video to edit too) but it basically involved doing a variation of applications using Minwax’s Dark Walnut and Ebony stains (some light, some dark, some mixed, etc). We ended up with a bunch of boards that looked aged and kinda beat up, like they were collected from a few different sources – instead of just purchased at the home improvement store a week ago looking all shiny and new.

ConStain 4 Varied Boards

Then it was time to attach them together to create one big solid tabletop – well, actually three tabletop pieces (two long ends and one small “puzzle” piece that would cover our hidden storage compartment in the middle, which can be lifted out). After doing some math, we decided to stagger the boards by four inches so that when it came to the open part in the middle there would be a small lip on each edge for the puzzle piece to rest on when it’s closed so it all looks flush (I promise this will make more sense once you see the final pics at the bottom of the post). The point is, my first few cuts looked something like this.

ConBuild Staggered Cuts

To attach the boards, I again used my beloved Kreg Jig to screw holes that would tightly join each piece to the one beside it.

ConBuild Staggered Holes

After joining the end boards, I drilled the rest of the holes and continued screwing them together, one-by-one. It probably took me about 40 minutes to create each of the two long sides of the wood countertop (and then about twenty to build the smaller “puzzle piece” cover for the storage space in the middle).

ConBuild Holes On Back

Here’s what one side looked like when it was mostly complete (it was still missing the 1 x 2″ poplar border around the edge). You can see how I tried to vary the color on adjacent boards so the change in tone looked intentional and added lots of nice texture and character.

ConBuild One Side Done1

Once the second side was done I double checked everything by placing the tabletops on the console bases – making sure that my measurements were still accurate and I didn’t need to make any adjustments before attaching the poplar 1 x 2″s around the perimeter. Luckily, all was good. Big phew.

ConBuild Side Rails

Let’s fast forward (past attaching side borders and screwing four staggered boards together to create the middle puzzle piece) and show you our final step before putting the whole darn thing together: touch-up staining and poly-ing. We realized that it would help to stain some of the cut ends and part of the middle storage piece so that no raw wood would be seen. Once dried, Sherry applied a coat of Safecoat Acrlacq polyurethane over everything that was stained to seal it all in and protect our beloved console baby (and our beloved real baby since Safecoat is non-toxic and water-based so it doesn’t off gas like regular oil-based poly does (read more about staining and sealing the consoles here).

ConBuild Additional Stain

Oh and before I forget, do you see the white fabric around the middle console piece in the pic above? That was just an extra sheet that we had which Sherry stapled neatly around the entire wooden frame to create a nice little fabric compartment so nothing that we attempt to store can slyly slip behind the sofa. Then those two baskets that you see stacked on the chair (that we also already owned) can be contained inside the fabric “box” for storing everything from board games and books to remotes and other stuff that you might want to put on a coffee table (since we have an ottoman instead). More pics of that in a minute.

After that last bit of staining and sealing (and a few days of drying) everything was finally ready to come back into the living room. We brought things in one-by-one (bases first, then the tops) and after we had everything lined up the way we wanted it, I drilled a few screws up through the bottom of the two bases on the ends to secure the wood tops in place. And with that, our nearly 12 foot console (with a hidden middle storage compartment and some sweet bookcase-sides for even more stash space) was officially complete.

ConReveal Full Side1

Maybe we’re biased because it’s our creation, but we’re both convinced that it came out even better than we had imagined. In fact, we think the DIY distressed wood top looks way better in the space than the grey-ish pallets would have (we’re the first to admit that the room has enough gray going on already). Hallelujah for happy accidents.

Conreveal Contrast1

It also made us really happy that we opted for a rustic warm wood look with lots of imperfections and character (since the room was beginning to skew a little more modern than we had intended). It definitely brings some much needed balance to the overall vibe (especially once we add a heftier TV stand and some table lamps to finish things off).

ConReveal Vertical Chaise1

Oh, but I can’t forget to show you how the hidden storage compartment turned out in the middle. It’s my favorite feature, probably because it makes me feel like James Bond. Can you spot the removable puzzle piece there in the pic below?

ConReveal Middle 2

Clearly it’s not 100% disguised, but when you’re looking at the console as a whole it doesn’t scream at you (just scroll a few up a few photos to see what I mean) since it’s flush and the ends are still staggered instead of being cut into a big obvious removable rectangle. Once we’ve actually got some stuff on the table (lamps, a lacquer box or two, some books, etc) we think it’ll call even less attention to itself. We were just proud to get such a snug fit without making it difficult to remove (miraculously it slides right out and drops easily back in).

ConReveal Puzzle Break Clos

Speaking of which, I did end up drilling a small oblong hole (about 4 John fingers / 5 Sherry fingers wide) to make lifting it out as simple as possible. Three cheers for the sanding bits on my Dremel (Sherry got me a Dremel Trio for Father’s Day last year) which helped me make the hole even and smooth. I was nervous to puncture my took-three-weeks-to-make-it creation, but it all worked out in the end.

ConReveal Lifting Puzzle

When lifted out completely, we gain access to those two storage baskets that I mentioned a while back (we’ll eventually fill them with more games, maybe some DVDs, not-often-used remotes, and who knows what else). Oh and you can see below what I meant by staggering the boards to leave a lip for the puzzle piece to rest on for a nice flush look:

ConReveal Hidden Baskets

We don’t expect to use that storage on a daily basis, so for the most part it’ll maintain its secret identity as one solid piece except once or twice a week when we dig in there for a movie or a game or something.

ConReveal Back High Angle1

Of course we still have to put the darn thing to use – aka add some table lamps to the top, store some items on the shelves on each side, and generally load that baby up with function and a little form (maybe a ceramic animal for the wife). But to give you a sense of what it might look like, here are our two bedside lamps playing stand-in for a minute. It reminds us why the 16.5″ width is perfect for us – it’s wide enough to fit a chunky table lamp without having to worry about knocking our heads into them (since we’re both guilty of over-exaggerated laughing spells during particularly funny moments of Modern Family).

ConReveal With Lamps1

And no reveal post is complete without – say it with me – a budget breakdown. So here it is:

  • Wood (white wood & poplar from Home Depot) – $98
  • Screws & Tools – $0 (already owned everything)
  • White sheet – $0 (already owned)
  • 2 storage baskets for middle compartment – $0 (already owned)
  • Minwax Ebony Stain – $4
  • Minwax Dark Walnut Stain – $0 (already owned)
  • Safecoat Acrylacq Sealant – $0 (already owned)
  • Cheap paintbrushes for staining – $2
  • TOTAL:  $104

Clearly wood was our biggest budget hog, but for a nearly 12 foot piece of furniture made from solid wood, we can’t really complain about the just over $100 price tag. Especially since this extremely similar piece from West Elm goes for $379 – and we would’ve needed to buy THREE of them, to the tune of $1,137. Yowsa.

ConReveal Full Room

So another big thanks to Ana White for inspiring the design and giving me the confidence to tackle it myself (with the help of my stain slingin’ wifey). Did anyone else out there complete any builds this week? Who’s still in the basement/garage/shed/workroom finishing something up? Speaking of finishing up, I have some videos to edit and a big post to write about our wood distressing technique, so here’s hoping I can get that up in a day or two. In the meantime I’ll leave you with this shot of our new “old” boards before we screwed them all together to make the console top. Is it weird that it gets me all hot and bothered? Whatever, my wife likes leopard heels and I like distressed lumber.

Distressed Wood Preview

Psst- Wanna see all the past steps that went into building this beast of a console table? Here’s the first post, the second one, and the third one.

UPDATE: CHECK OUT THE ACCESSORIZED CONSOLE TABLE HERE.

Comments

  4. Laura says

    I am so impressed! It came out perfect! Nice work, you two! I think you should make your own media cabinet too (for the tv).

    Reply

  6. Wendy says

    You guys make a ton of fantastic things, and you have a great eye for style. I love reading your blog, but PLEASE, do you have to use the phrase “DIY” so much? It’s a trendy buzzword that has become nauseating. You can say, “This is the console we made”. I know there are others out there who feel the same way I do. “DIY” is all over the internet, but I’m afraid you guys are guilty of using it multiple times daily more than almost anyone.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I bet there are literally a hundred words that we use waaay too much! Haha. We say super a lot. And sweet. And we named our sofa Karl. And we call our daughter the bean. We just write long rambling posts full of words that probably annoy people all the time. But that’s just the way we “talk”, so I think DIY will keep popping up along with all the rest of that stuff. Oops, see there it was in that last sentence already. Somebody get me a muzzle. Wait, maybe I can DIY one…

      xo,
      s

    • Kirsty says

      This made me LOL, here in New Zealand we are known as a DIY nation! Heck we may have even coined the phrase! Or was it those Aussies?? Anyway, I think it’s cute! It reminds me of funny ad of ours for the hardware store…
      http://youtu.be/28pbk_cQx-w

      <3 you guys and DIY! :D
      xo K

    • Amber says

      I love how you guys are sooo uniquely “YOU”– and whatever trips your trigger, fancies your taste, sweeps your floor, ummm (got any more?:)….. keep doing it!

    • Ted says

      Ummm…if it bothers you, you can stop reading the blog. I, for one, happen to like their folksy writing style. As YHL likes to say, it “keeps it real.” And I also wouldn’t mind if a few more people decided to stop reading because they don’t like something. If we didn’t have 300-400 comments per entry, then I would spend less time reading and have more time to DIY more around my own house :-)

      Love the blog.

  9. Lacey says

    I’m sorry, but I have to call John out on a slight Kreg Jig obsession- that’s A LOT of Kreg Jig holes!;) Lazier people such as myself would probably have just nail-gunned anything not part of the removable rectangle…but then again, lazier people such as myself would have to deal with ugly nail holes. Kudos, John!

    Reply

  10. Tori says

    You guys, that is GORGEOUS. And for $100? You can’t beat it.

    Let me know if you’re interested in building one for my house ;)

    Reply

  11. Caitlin says

    GREAT JOB!!! Now I just need ya’ll to build a rock’n entertainment center! Only when your ready to purchase a big screen, of course! =)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re going to add lamps on each side and probably a few stacks of books that we love to flip through, some boxes full of all the stuff we store out of sight (remotes, my journal, lip gloss, etc), and a coaster for my tea. Those seem to be the necessities that come to mind, but who knows what we’ll end up with!

      xo,
      s

  17. Lindsay says

    holy mother of kidney beans. i freakin’ love it.
    the puzzle piece is also my fave – when you first described it I had no idea how to picture it. amazingly “distressed” wood, also. GREAT JOB!

    Reply

  18. Britt says

    So beautifully done! This is my favorite website, I look forward to checking in every day. Thanks for sharing! What on earth will you think of next?!

    Reply

  19. christina winters says

    Wow that looks great! Crate and Barrel had some pieces made with repurposed lumber that these are kind of similar to (from at least five years ago I think). Also I must say, yours looks MUCH NICER and way more expensive than the West Elm option, and I love West Elm!

    Reply

  20. Ames says

    At first I was kind of agreeing with some people that it a bit too rustic for the room, but the more I look at it, the more I love it….I mean, on its own I think it is the most amazing thing, but I wasn’t sure at first that it fit well in the room. But it does! It is really, really cool.

    Reply

  22. Allison says

    HOLY COW! Seriously, you guys, VERY nice job. I am a long time lurker but had to come out of the woodwork (har har. no pun intended) to congratulate you on kicking some butt on this. It’s so awesome.

    Reply

  24. Cheryl says

    I love it!!!! And I’m so proud! Even though I had nothing to do with it! haha

    I’m so glad to hear you say your living room has been a little too modern, because I personally loooooved your old house’s decor. I’m excited to see the new piece with STUFF on it and in it, and what happens with the TV wall and curtains, etc. etc. I’m waiting on the completion of the room with baited breath (although it feels like I’ll be waiting for a long while yet.)

    Reply

  30. chelsea says

    love the rustic table! how are you feeling about the rug with the table? It’s an interesting mix of playful and more classic that I wouldn’t have normally considered.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re the first to admit that the room looks kinda crazy because it’s half done (the media cabinet is way too small, there are no lamps on the console or ceiling light fixtures in the room, and all of the bare sliders and windows drive me crazy) but in our minds it’ll all make sense when we’re done (we’ll tie in the rustic with more rustic and clean curtains will tie in the textured and modern rug). We’ve got a long way to go, but when we squint, we can see it…

      xo,
      s

  31. Amber says

    John, you loving your (thingama) jig, and ‘hot and bothered’ from distressed wood?! No worries, there is at LEAST one other person out there who feels the same–and I live with him :) Although there’s also drool involved at times too….

    Love the console!

    Reply

  33. tricia says

    I don’t know how you deal with some of the negative comments on here…some people are so rude that it upsets me!!

    Reply

  35. Shannon says

    I think that your console table is way purtier than the West Elm version. Y’all could go into the furniture building/designing business…just sayin’.

    Reply

  36. katy says

    Holy crap! That’s amazing! I knew it would be, but good grief, that’s way cool. You guys are such an inspiration.

    Reply

  38. Rachel says

    When you guys first talked about putting a long console behind Karl, I wasn’t a believer.

    But seeing it now, it looks awesome and once you guys get some kick ass lamps on that it’ll tie it together even more.

    Great solution for an otherwise awkward drink resting situation!

    Reply

  39. Margaret says

    Great job! And I LOVE that you have Quiddler, Bananagrams, and Farkle- 3 of my very favorite games! Good taste in games. ;-)

    Reply

  40. joan says

    speaking of modern family – i nearly died laughing tonight when claire says, “come back in 7 years and 5 months when they’re all GONE!!”

    Reply

  41. Kaity says

    Congratulations guys – it looks fantastic! I put together a flat packed set of shelves last week, but I have to say I’m feeling a little inadequate after seeing that. Well done :)

    Reply

  48. Silke says

    Wow ! I cannot even believe you actually made this yourself. It looks incredible ! What a terrific job. Well done you guys !!
    Kind greetings from a lovely and sunny Belgium,
    Silke

    Reply

  49. Heather says

    OK I have to admit that the photos of building the table top about halfway through left me scratching my head, but miraculously once the edge pieces were on it just works so well! I also can’t wait to see how you incorporate it into the room with accessories, etc. Huge job, really well done, and VERY impressive. Keep it up guys. You inspire me every day.

    Reply

  50. Bree C. says

    I am so glad you posted this right now! We are in the process of building two sliding barn doors (built from fence board) and have yet to decide how to stain them. This is just what I’m looking for!!

    Thank you, thank you!!

    Reply

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