DIY Sofa Table: Easy, Step-by-Step Instructions

I have been wanting a sectional for the past few years. After our couch broke at our last duty station, hubby and I agreed we would upgrade at the next place and leave our old, comfy, reclining couch set behind in Europe. The problem was I wanted a sectional and he worried that we would all fight over the ends, so we had a place to set down our drinks, books, phones, etc. We hang out in the living room a lot as a family, so I knew this was a possibility. Insert brilliant idea: I will build a sofa table!

I didn’t want to buy one because I knew it wouldn’t be long enough and buying two just seemed expensive. I drew up my first set of plans, got hubby’s input, and got to work!

Each sofa table required the following wood:

(1) 1x8x6

(4) 1x2x6

I made the following cuts:

1x8x6 cut to 67.75 inches

1x2x6 cut to 5.75 inches (4 cuts)

1x2x6 cut to 30 inches (4 cuts)

1x2x6 cut to 11 inches at a 45-degree angle (4 cuts)

After sanding down each cut, I started by building the legs. Each leg required two of the 5.75-inch cuts and two of the 30-inch cuts. I used wood glue and my nail gun to attach the legs, building two long, skinny, rectangles.

Next, using wood glue and my nail gun, I attached the legs to the top piece, an inch from the edge.

I added the four angled cuts for stabilization.

After filling in all of the holes, and sanding down to a smooth finish, I decided to try out my new paint sprayer. Since I was working with raw wood, that had been freshly sanded, I did not use a primer. The color I used was Chimney Smoke by Valspar.

Finally, I added a clear, protective coat of polyacrylic, to the entire piece. I added two additional coats to the top portion, sanding between coats.

A couple quick thoughts post build. If you are going to build these tables but are not sandwiching them between your couch and a wall, I would add a shelf on the bottom for more stabilization. Additionally, it might be a little easier to offset the smaller pieces that attach the legs, at least at the bottom. This will provide more stabilization and it won’t be a pain if the edges don’t line up perfectly.

Happy building!