This modern Pottery Barn inspired easy DIY console table with shelves will make a great entry table or sofa table! The adjustable length makes it easy to customize to your space and finish to fit your style.
Be sure to also read our tips for picking good 2×4’s and other lumber to build with and also 25 console table decorating ideas.
Pottery Barn Inspired Rustic Modern DIY Console Table
Hello Remodelaholic readers! It’s Mindi from MyLove2Create.
I love building affordable furniture and decor like this $25 Farmhouse Bench and Long Hexagon Tray. Today I am going to show you how to build a Pottery Barn inspired modern rustic DIY console table!
Isn’t it a beauty!!
You can have the high end look without the cost with this easy build, and I am super excited to show you how!
Watch the video over on the Remodelaholic YouTube channel here (and please subscribe!), and get the detailed printable plans over in the Remodelaholic Shop.
How to Build an Easy DIY Console Table
Click here to see the photo tutorial over at Mylove2Create
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Materials & Tools
I kept the cost of this plan down by using affordable construction grade lumber: a few 2x2s, 2x3s, 2×6, and 2×10 boards. Get the full printable materials list in the woodworking plan.
Read these tips for picking the best, straightest lumber for your project.
There are no angled cuts in this build, so you’ll just need a chop saw (miter saw) or circular saw and a pocket hole jig and a drill/driver.
The KregJig pocket hole jig is worth the investment because it makes joinery so easy and can be used on so many projects!
You’ll also need pocket hole screws and a few wood screws. I recommend self-tapping screws to save a bit of time on pre-drilling.
And don’t forget the clamps — good clamps make every build easier. Face clamps and right angle clamps are handy for building furniture like this.
Building the Console Table
The printable woodworking plan contains all the detailed assembly instructions. Here are a few tips to make the project successful.
Tip 1: Cutting Wood Console Table Parts
For multiple cuts the same length, use your first cut piece to measure, mark and cut the remaining pieces of the same size (bottom left).
Tip 2: Sand Before You Build
After you cut all all your pieces, sand them to buttery smooth. It’s much easier to get a good smooth finish before the pieces are assembled, then touch up any spots that need it.
Tip 3: Use Spacers
Using cut scrap wood spacers is a great way to get secure joints in the right location, without marking as many spots to line up.
Measure one spacer instead of markings for the rails on the legs, and use a scrap board “spacer” to line up the shelf overhang, too.
Use small spacers (I used 1/4″ thick 5-gallon paint sticks) to get the shelves in the right location for final assembly.
Tip 4: Clamp Clamp Clamp
It is so important to have good clamps and a good work surface to build on!
Investing in a good set of clamps will ensure that your joins are straight and square and your furniture is sturdy.
My assembly table features a track clamp system like Justin’s table saw workbench and it’s amazing.
Just look at all the clamps at work here! These are face clamps but when attaching the legs to the aprons, I also like to use a right angle clamp to hold my pieces in places so they don’t shift while I drive in the screw.
Tip 5: Use a Smaller Drill
Because the console table is fairly narrow, the spacing between legs doesn’t fit a standard size drill with the pocket hole screw bit.
You can try using a standard drill bit, or, like I did here, a right angle drill (or drill attachment) to fit the tight spot. A great addition to your tool arsenal!
Tip 6: Use Self-Tapping Screws
Just like with the easy farmhouse bench, I recommend using self-tapping screws any time you aren’t using pocket hole screws. For this console table, that includes when you attach the shelves to the base (shown above in Tip 3).
If your screws are not self tapping you will need to pre-drill before you add your screws so you don’t split the wood. Self-tapping screws make me happy! 🙂
See more Easy Woodworking Plans for Beginners.
Finishing a Modern Wood Console Table
For this console table, you’ll finish the wood BEFORE you complete the assembly.
Now you may think, “Finish? But the build isn’t complete yet!” You are right, but trust me this is the best way to do it!
I did a quick dry fit with my top and shelf boards to make sure everything fit and was square.
I wanted the wood to look like metal, so I spray painted the base of the console table with oil rubbed bronze to give it a metallic look.
For the shelves, I wanted my new wood to have a more “weathered” look so I did a few extra steps instead of just staining like normal.
- Because I was using soft pine I used a pre wood conditioner to keep my stain from going on blotchy (top left).
- I started with a coat of weathered gray stain (top right).
- Once that dried, I beat up the wood. I took some random objects and did some banging with a hammer, pounding random things into the wood (like this beaded cord, bottom left and a screw), and used a chisel to scrap and gouge some edges. (I show a few more examples of how to get the reclaimed wood look in my Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table post.)
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I stained the wood again with a dark walnut stain. The darker stain on top helped the “banged up” parts to stand out more giving the wood that used and reclaimed look.
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I finished off the top board and shelves with 3 coats of poly sanding with a fine grit sand paper between coats 2 and 3.
You just built a beautiful console table for a fraction of the inspired version’s cost!!
Plus this is a really quick build, so it doesn’t take long at all! I bought the wood and had it built before my kids got home from school. Technically I hadn’t attached the top and shelf boards yet, but the base was built and spray painted!
This is such a versatile piece too. It can be used behind a sofa, for your TV and media center, or as an entry table.
I think it would be great in a craft room too with labeled bins to hold craft supplies, or fabric!
You can finish it with a rustic industrial look like I did here or on my Rustic Industrial Table, or use a fun colored paint and stain or your own DIY wood stain recipe…really there are so many possibilities to make it to fit your own style.
The clean lines of this console table will also look great with this farmhouse X side table for a whole set!
This is why I love DIY… Make it how you want it!
If you are looking for a console table I hope you give this build a try!
More DIY console tables to build:
- planked X farmhouse TV console
- adjustable length double X console
- no-nails long console table
- waterfall edge stacked plywood console table
- sliding barn door media console
First Published 04 Nov 2017 // Last Updated 26 Feb 2021
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