A New DIY Coffee Table: From Store Bought to Family Heirloom!
October 21, 2026
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Creating a large coffee table full of warmth and charm for our family room!
Our family room coffee table has undergone a few tweaks over the years! This room is plenty big, plus with the tall pitched ceiling, we needed a BIG coffee table that would work with the scale of the space.
I was able to find plenty of large coffee tables but they were SO expensive...so I figured we could combine two inexpensive tables to create the size we wanted:
A few years later, I tweaks this a bit. I wanted to add some warmth to this room and create one flat surface instead of the two.
I shared how I made a new tabletop that I attached to the existing metal bases of the previous tables:
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And since then, it has functioned beautifully for us!
But after living with it for a few years, I wanted to calm it down and add a bit more character. All of the black metal lines were feeling a little busy and modern to me.
We love the size and look of the wood tabletop, so I had an idea in mind to utilize the top, but tweak the base. I finally got to it this week!
For this makeover, I grabbed four pine table legs, as well as four 1x3x4 poplar boards from Lowe's:
Later, I found the exact same table legs in a set of four for way cheaper, dang it! (Those also come in a variety of heights, so you may not have to cut them down like I did.)
First up, we flipped the table and I removed the existing metal bases:
The tabletop is 3/4 inch thick, so I made sure to use shorter screws to attach these.
I did some measurements and determined how much height I needed to take off of the legs. I wanted to keep the height of the table the same, but also wanted the poplar boards to meet up perfectly with edge of the legs (you'll see more on that later).
Pretty sure I ended up cutting about three inches off the top. A compound miter saw is the most efficient way to cut these down, but you could definitely do it by hand with a miter box/saw:
Once I had the cuts done, I took them inside to attach them to the underside of the table. I had these brackets in my stash thankfully, so that saved some money:
I also used my favorite wood glue under each leg as well. Again, make sure to consider the length of your screws before attaching, so they don't poke through the tabletop!
As is, (even with the combo of glue and the brackets), it would be a bit wobbly, so I knew I needed to add a bit more strength to the whole set up. Once the legs were attached, I measured each poplar board to fit in between each set of legs.
Make sure the fit of each board is snug (so each leg is secure), but not so tight that they have to be forced in.
This is where the awesome Kreg pocket hole jig comes in SO handy! This thing is awesome and makes builds like this so much more secure. This tool makes "hidden" holes that their special screws slide into and connect the pieces of wood together.
I placed two holes at each end of the board (to attach to the table legs), as well as a couple down the length of the wood so I could attach each of these boards to the underside of the table as well:
If you're a beginner and won't need this tool often, the smaller pocket hole jig is more than sufficient (and comes with the drill bit and everything you'll need). If you're planning to build more, I highly recommend their jig with a clamp -- it makes quick work of drilling!
I forgot to take a picture of this as I worked, so here's a finished view of how each leg and the supports came together (excuse the messy stain job that no one will see but you 😉):
Once those boards were attached to both the legs and the table top, they weren't going anywhere. This thing is STURDY!
We took it out to the garage so I could finish up the project with stain. I always use a pre-conditioner before staining, especially with pine. It helps to prep the wood for stain and gives you a much better finish in the end:
I used a color called Provincial from Minwax on the top years ago:
So I continued that same stain onto the new legs and supports. Because all of these are different species of wood, I knew they wouldn't match exactly. I could have played around with the stain to try to make it perfect, but the slight variation doesn't bother me.
I think it adds to the character. :) Pick your battles my DIY friends!:
I cannot even express to you how much I LOVE THIS TABLE now. It turned out even better than I envisioned.
It is really beautiful, and dare I say looks like a vintage piece I could have picked up second hand -- which is what I wanted! You could definitely make this more modern with simpler wood legs and a different stain, but I wanted something that looked like it's been around for a while.
It fits in this room beautifully and adds so much warmth and character.
A couple years ago I added decorative metal corners to the table for a little extra charm:
Now they fit in even better with the new look!
At first I was considering keeping the softer ottomans under the table, but they were looking messy and taking away from the new beauty of the legs:
Today I brought up a couple more structured ottomans from the basement and placed them closer to the fireplace. I LOVE it. We can still use them to rest our feet, but they will serve as extra seating as well:
This coffee table makeover cost me $80 for the legs and less than $30 for the poplar boards. I had the conditioner, stain and hardware like brackets and screws.
A little over $100 for a piece we will keep forever! I just love this project and hope it inspires you. Of course, you could build this from scratch using the wood tabletop tutorial combined with this one.
If I left out anything out or you have questions, please let me know in the comments!
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