I’m fixing up the little studio we have above our garage for its multipurpose use and in my quest of inexpensive furniture of course I shopped IKEA. A few weeks ago I bought an Ektorp loveseat and I also had a Hemnes coffee table sitting in the garage, plain and white and perfectly fine on its own, but I wanted to hack it into something more unique.
I decided to add a wood top to the surface which I then stained a weathered gray for rustic meets coastal look.
If you’d like to recreate this project, these are the supplies you’ll need: Hemnes coffee table, six 8 foot pieces of 1 x 2” and three 1 x 4” pieces of wood, stain of choice, polyurethane, sponge chip brushes, brad nailer, miter saw, wood glue, orbital sander.
To make the wood top, you need four 8 foot pieces of 1 x 2” and three 8 foot pieces of 1 x 4” cut with a miter saw in the formation shown below to equal the exact width of the table. (I used select pine from Lowes.)
Apply a good amount of wood glue to each piece then flip them over.
You can secure the wood to the table with wood screws underneath but we opted to secure the wood with a brad nailer above for quicker application. Since I was going for the rustic look I didn’t mind if there were teensy tiny nails exposed on the surface, and since the stain I choose was gray they virtually disappeared.
Sand any imperfect edges before securing the wood surround.
We chose a square edge for speed which I later sanded but you can cut the edges at a 45° angle in the corner if you prefer. All pieces were secured with 1 ¼” brad nails, then I rounded the edges with the orbital sander so they were less sharp.
I used two coats of the same stain I used on this planter bench but if you want to buy it note it’s been rebranded under the RustOleum label in the same weathered gray shade.
I have not added a protective coat yet but I don’t want it to be shiny so I’m going to use either a clear paste wax or this matte polyurethane to preserve the rustic weathered look of the wood.
I used the white version of the coffee table, but I’d love to repeat this project in another space with the black base and a walnut stained top as darker more masculine style. Any volunteers to beat me to it? :)
The addition of the wood top adds a rustic and unique touch, and the project costs less than $200 including the table, wood, and supplies. Happy hacking!
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