I feel like this post is worthy of a few tears being shed. And no, it has nothing to do with the actual building of this table. That actually went pretty smoothly.
But it also signified the end of our pile of 2×4’s. 🙁
When we started our renovation last spring, we went back and forth on whether or not to save all the 30 year old studs that were coming down with the walls. I, of course, want to SAVE.ALL.THE.THINGS.
My husband was leaning more towards the side of “we’re in over our heads as it is and have already paid for a dumpster in our driveway… let’s pitch them.”
But we met in the middle and the obviously bad ones got pitched, and I still got a nice pile of leftover ones to work with. And my word, is my husband glad now that we saved them!
I built a 2×4 desk that we love and that fits an awkward corner of our living room perfectly!
I built 3 blanket ladders…
he built frames for 2 sets of floating shelves,
the frame for our coat bench…
2 benches, he framed out 2 full walls in our basement that we’re finishing and so many other little projects or crafts! Not bad at all for FREE wood!
And now we also have this gorgeous DIY console table out of 2x4s! It was the very end of our pile, though. In fact, I even had to go buy $12 worth of new wood just to finish this one!
But I think it was worth the $12, wouldn’t you say?!
If you’re using old wood like I was, the key is to get a belt sander so you can get all the old glue and other grime off. The belt sander really speeds up your work and makes the wood look new again.
I also used a palm sander to soften all the edges a bit. I prefer mine a bit more rounded than a straight, harsh edge.
I found the plans on Rogue Engineer. If you’re ever looking for plans, I highly recommend his site. I’ve looked at many other woodworkers’ sites before, and find his the absolute easiest to use. The plans are straightforward, the cut lists are easy to follow and every single thing I’ve made from his plans has turned out! That’s always a bonus, eh?
If you look at his plans, though, you’ll see his X-frame is a bit different from ours. His calls for cross bars across both of the bottom angled pieces to make 2 large x’s. We actually cut the pieces for the first X, but when we held it up, it was just a bit busier than we wanted.
I still really like the way his looks, but we felt the simple single bar fit better with some of the other pieces we’ve built already. Just a little note, that you don’t always have to follow plans exactly! Our table is incredibly sturdy and solid without those extra pieces, and no one will ever know the difference except us!
And just look how far this room has come! This is what the room looked like when we walked through it last year before we bought it:
And I won’t give you the full reveal yet, but here’s how our new table fits in!
Now hopefully sometime soon I can get a decent picture without the solar glare coming through that window, and then you’ll be able to see the full reveal!
Sean
Wednesday 30th of December 2020
That looks amazing. You said you used all 2x4s but the plans used calls for 2x6s for the top. Did you use 2x6s on top?
Jodi
Monday 23rd of September 2019
We also followed the plans from Rogue Engineer, but omitted the X part and just built the table exactly like you did. We also adjusted the height and length for the space we put it in. That’s the beauty of building your own furniture, it’s custom for your space! Plus it’s so much cheaper!!
Natalie
Sunday 13th of October 2019
LOVE hearing that! I completely agree too! It's so much fun to customize and tweak a set of plans until you get something that works perfectly for your space!
Craig
Tuesday 24th of April 2018
Where can I get the directions to build this! Would love to build it for my wife!
Natalie
Wednesday 2nd of May 2018
Hi Craig! I linked to the plans we used in the article and also explained what we did a little differently in terms of the X-braces on the bottom. Here is the direct link to the plans: https://rogueengineer.com/diy-x-brace-console-table-plans/
Happy building!
Noelle
Friday 6th of October 2017
Hi, my grandpa just built this table for me!! Absolutely love it! We have to stain it still. What color stain did you use on it?? Thanks!
Natalie
Friday 6th of October 2017
What a great grandpa! I used Minwax Honey to stain mine. It's my favorite shade of stain that I've found so far! I'd love to see pictures of yours when it's finished!