DIY Reclaimed Sofa Table [tutorial]

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I’ve been itching for an old, rustic French sofa table ever since we bought our new house.  You might remember the industrial rustic wood table we made from black iron pipe for our last house, which I still love, but I’m just always looking to switch things up!  Our new home has a more coastal/ farmhouse feel, so I’ve been creating pieces that work better for that style, like my coastal coffee table!  I met my destiny when I came across four antique balusters at a local salvage yard, they had the PERFECT old, chippy patina I was looking for!  So, I finally got my wish when Brett & I turned those ballasters into our incredible new DIY reclaimed sofa table!

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DIY Reclaimed Sofa Table [tutorial]

MATERIALS (for a 56″ x 12 1/2″ table)

  • three 10″ Pine floor boards (we re-purposed leftover pieces from our kitchen floor project)
  • four reclaimed balusters (we found ours at a salvage yard, they were 22″ tall)
  • table saw
  • nail gun (plus 1″ and 2 1/2″ nails)
  • wood glue
  • apple cider vinegar
  • steel wool
  • white chalk + clay paint (we used CeCe Caldwell’s)

METHOD

First, we cut the pine floor to size for the table’s top and bottom.  This included four pieces of pine, using the table saw, we cut two pieces down to 6″ W x 47″ L, and two pieces to 6 1/2″ W x 47″ L.  We left the tongue and grove on just one side of each piece so that we could lock them together.  For the table top, we locked together a 6″ and 6 1/2″ piece, then set the other two pieces aside for the bottom.

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Next, using the table saw, we ripped four strips of pine into 1 3/4″ pieces to build the skirt around the bottom of the table top.  Two of the strips were 56″ L and two were 9 1/2″ L (for the ends).  To attach the skirt, we applied a good amount of wood glue before using a nail gun to secure it in place, leaving a 4 1/2″ overhang for our breadboard ends.

At this point we cut all four of our 4 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ “breadboard” ends.  The breadboard ends gave our rustic table a more authentic, French Country look

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After applying the glue and cutting the breadboard ends to size, we used the nail gun (and 1″ nails) to secure the skirt to the table top…

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Next, we nailed (using 1″ nails) the 9 1/2″ skirt pieces in place, boxing in the entire underside of the table top.  The skirt was 1/2″ thick, so this made our table appear to be 1″ thick once it was secured to the top…

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Time to attach the legs!  We found our amazing reclaimed balusters at a local salvage yard, we didn’t even have to do anything to them because they had the perfect white, chippy aged patina!  To secure the legs to the table top, we applied wood glue to all four corners…

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Then used the nail gun (along with 2 1/2″ nails) to secure them to the skirt…

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To ensure that the legs were locked securely in place, we cut another 9 1/2″ piece of pine to secure the legs on both sides…diy-reclaimed-sofa-table13

Then used the nail gun (along with 2 1/2″ nails) to attach the strapping to the legs…

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Now that all four legs are attached, we can move onto the bottom of the table!  We locked the two pieces of pine together just like we did for the table top.

Then, to add more height to our table, we decided to cut the bottom skirt into 3 1/2″ pieces and attach them vertically (rather then adding just the 1/2″ of height as we did for the table top).  We secured the skirt using wood glue and 2 1/2″ nails (shot in from the table’s top piece).  You’ll notice that we only attached the larger skirt on the three visible sides of the table, we attached the standard 1/2″ skirt on the back.

To further secure the bottom together, we attached two pieces of bracing underneath the table…

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Finally, to secure the bottom of the table, we shot 2 1/2″ nails into the balusters from the underside…

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After attaching the bottom piece the construction of the table was complete!  She’s a natural beauty, but we added some aging effects and chalk paint to really make this table look authentic!

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I wanted to give the pine a naturally aged look.  First, I soaked steel wool in apple cider for about 15 minutes…

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Then coated the entire table in vinegar using the steel wool.   This did not smell pretty, but luckily the awful odor didn’t last long (a couple hours at most)…

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I began to see changes in the wood after about an hour, but the next morning it really looked awesome…

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I wanted the table to have an aged white wash look, especially because the legs had a rustic white patina.  So I mixed up a white wash using CeCe Caldwell’s Chalk + Clay paint, my solution was approx. 3 parts water to one part paint.  I lightly coated the entire piece in the white wash…

Finally, I dabbed and splattered spots of white onto the table (then gently blended them using a paper towel) to give the paint an authentically aged feel… an old reclaimed table wouldn’t remain perfectly white washed after all those years!

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Here’s how the table top looked after applying the white wash and “age splatters”…

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Typically, I seal all my pieces with wax or satin finish, but this table had such a thin wash of paint that I didn’t find it necessary, plus I really wanted to keep it natural feeling…

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I’m absolutely IN LOVE with out new reclaimed sofa table!  It definitely has the authentic French Country feel that I was looking for!

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You’ll notice we left all the natural nail holes, I even took a hammer to it to add more dings for character =)

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Here’s a close up of that finish again =)

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Find more DIY furniture projects here!

 

15 responses to “DIY Reclaimed Sofa Table [tutorial]

  1. What a great job – Bravo! I have never heard of using apple cider vinegar to age wood and can’t wait to try it. Thanks so much for sharing.

  2. Pingback: Main Ingredient Monday-
  3. this is an old post but i’m SO in love and wondering if you could tell me the height of the balusters? thanks so much 🙂

      1. Hi! I love this table. Thank you for the info. I’m currently looking and balusters and noticed in the materials list they were 22”, but on this you commented 36”. I’m just trying to make sure I get it right. Thank you!

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