DIY Coffee Table 2 Ways! -

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Last week I shared with you our deck oasis, AKA the deck transformation. If you missed that post, you can see it here. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! The one piece that I was so excited to make for the deck was the coffee table. Before, we never really had anywhere to place drinks or snacks while we were out sitting on the sofas. And if we wanted to eat dinner outside and enjoy the weather, forget about it! Our deck is not large enough to have any sort of dining table and still be able to move around it. Until I discovered this little treasure…

If you ever need inspiration for items that have dual purpose, check out a tiny house design! They always need space saving solutions with multi-purpose functions…and that is exactly where I got my outdoor coffee table idea from! One of my favorite tiny houses was built by Ana White, but I was actually looking through her Wild Rose tiny home project when I discovered this little coffee table combo dining table.

Now, I did make a couple of modifications to her plans which I’ll share with you. And, if you love the look of the table, but don’t need it to convert into a dining table, I’ll show you how you can build just the coffee table as well!

120 grit sandpaper

stain of your choice (use exterior or decking stain if you are going to put it outside; we want it to be waterproof!) – I used this stain to match my sofas!

Cut List for Coffee Table Only

9 – 1×6″ at 29 1/4″

2 – 2×2″ at 46.5″

2 – 2×2″ at 26 1/4″

2 – 2×4″ at 46.5″

Additional Cut List Coffee Table Convert (in addition to above cuts)

2 – 2×2″ at 46.5″

2 – 2×2″ at 26 1/4″

2 – 2×4″ at 15″

Instructions

The first few steps will be the same for the coffee table and the coffee table convert. Shall we get started?

Step 1: Assemble the tabletop! Layout the tabletop boards. You can pocket hole them together for more stability, however since I am using this table outside, I wanted more leeway for water removal, and therefore did not pocket hole screw them together. Instead, I laid the tabletop boards face down and placed the 46.5″ 2×4’s in place. There should be a 1.5″ gap around the outside and ends of the 2×4’s so the overhang will perfectly line up. You can use a piece of scrap 2×4 or 2×2 for a spacer. I then screwed the 2×4 into each 1×6″ board with 2″ screws.

Step 2: Build the base! If you are only building the coffee table, you’ll have less base to assemble. Use 1.5″ pocket holes and 2.5″ pocket hole screws to assemble. It’s way easier to assemble with a buddy to ensure that your base is 100% square and you get a solid pocket hole assembly. Take note of how the base is assembled! The 2×2″ at 18″ should touch the floor and the top of the tabletop when fully assembled, meaning that all other frame pieces should fit inside the 18″ pieces. If you want to fill the pocket holes in, you can. I did not, as it’s just going outside and I wasn’t too worried about it. If you’re only creating the coffee table, good news – you are done! All that’s left to do is stain! For those creating the conversion, continue on!

Here is the coffee table only fully assembled with the tabletop!

I apparently do not have a picture of just the “full” base without the top. However, you can get the idea…just add the bottom pieces via pocket hole screws.

Step 3: Attach the dining table conversion cleats! Lay your tabletop face down. Place the frame on the table tall-side up, inside the already installed 2×4’s. Place your 15″ 2×4’s inside the frame, parallel to the 1×6″ boards and perpendicular to the already installed 2×4’s. Attach the 2×4’s using 2″ screws to the 1×6″ boards. That’s it! All that’s left is to stain!

Just disregard the missing leg…I ran out of pocket hole screws. Here is the picture of the cleats installed. I just used scrap wood leftover from another project to save some money. Take note that this pic is on the coffee table side, NOT the table-side where you should be installing the cleats!

This is the table in the dining position. THIS is how you should be installing the dining table cleats, except face down is easier.

And here is the finished product!

Note: In Ana’s original plans, she had additional 2×2″ cross-bracing for decoration and support which I did not use, as it was quite sturdy on its own. Since this is going on my deck, I decided that I did not need it and I wanted the table to be as simple as possible. To see Ana’s original plans with diagrams see her Wild Rose tiny house project. She also used additional 4″ L brackets on the base for additional support. If you are finding you need additional support when the table is in the dining table position, but don’t want the 2×2″ cross-bracing, you can certainly opt for for the L-brackets for support.

This has been one of my favorite projects to date! You all know how much I love multifunctional pieces! It’s not overly time-consuming to build either!