Very, very slowly our living room is taking shape.  While I ponder different rugs, I’m adding elements I really want.  Large meaningful art, a slim linen sofa, cozy pillows, and now an oversized coffee table.  Taping off the measurements really helped get a feel for the size I wanted.  Square seemed the best fit, so I went big at 44 inches.  I’m happy to say, I made this mostly on my own (Ben cut the top on the table saw).  It’s super affordable, too.  Around thirty bucks because we had the screws and a half sheet of OSB at home.  So, here’s how I made it.

I started with five eight foot long 2 by 2 boards.  Get the straightest ones you can find because it matters.  I couldn’t find good ones, so Ben cut 2 by 4 boards in half.  I cut four at 16 inches to make the legs.  Another seven at 41 inches to make the rails and leg supports.  Easiest cut list ever.  I marked the screw placement, then pre drilled holes in the leg pieces.  For this design, I needed two screws per leg going opposite directions.  With only 1.5 inches, I had to stagger the screws, making one slightly higher than center and another just below center.  With the holes drilled, I joined one leg to a cross support with a 3 inch long screw, going directly in the end like so:

Another set of hands would have been really nice at this point to keep the pieces tight.  I attached another leg to the other side of that to create an upside down U shape.  That’s one side of the legs, so I made another.  Following the same process, I attached a support to each to get this:

To stabilize the legs, I added another support 5 inches from the bottom of two sides.  For those legs to stay tight I added a cross-piece to those rails.  I didn’t have hands to take photos, but here it is finished:

For an iron look, I painted the base with two coats of leftover bathroom paint, Wrought Iron.

It’s a simple design but makes vacuuming under a breeze, which was one of my main goals.  I hate having to move furniture just to get under.

To break up all the wood and fabric, I used a faux emu leather on the top.  The vinyl is upholstery grade from Joann normally $30 per yard.  It was on 60% off sale so I saved big.

The OSB top we used was 3/4 inch thick, so I beefed up the edges with 1 by 2 pine.  Several 1 1/4 inch screws hold the strips on.  Then we wrapped the top, stapling inside the 1 by 2 edge.  Wrapping completely under the frame allowed the top to sit tightly against the base.

With a subtle bumpy texture and deep camel color, I think it has a lot of depth.  Perfect size, filling the open space and is centered on all furniture in the room.  Plenty big for drinks, games, Lego play, and accessories.  Now I’ll have to get a tray to hold accessories to make it a snap to move when necessary.

Still enough walking space between, too.

With the light weight, we can move it out-of-the-way, but it’s sturdy enough to double as an ottoman.  Or a very short fort for the boys.  Who knew a coffee table could have so many purposes?