Howdy! My name is Mindi and I blog over at MyLove2Create. You may remember me from a couple months ago when I shared my Rustic Pallet Jewelry Holder. Today I have another fun pallet project for you. A converted glass top coffee table into a pallet top coffee table..
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Anyone who has kids knows that coffee tables with glass won’t last forever in their home. Eventually something happens and the glass gets cracked or broken. Or people with kids just don’t by glass top tables. Or they don’t buy them after the glass breaks…or an adult breaks it, ha ha. 🙂 Ok, you get my point…
I have never personally owned a glass topped table. Case in point, I have six kids. I may be crazy, but not that crazy. Back in March, I happened upon this glass top table (minus the broken glass) in a pile of trash left out at our city’s spring clean up day. Aka- my favorite day of the year. Of course, it came home with me. Free is my favorite.
It found a spot on my back porch that is supposed to be a great gathering place for my family…instead it holds my furniture hoard. I am not sure why, but no matter how much I get rid of furniture, it seems to keep accumulating. Hmmmm. (ok, maybe I do know why…)
Anyway, last week my neighbor down the road was getting rid of her old fence sections, which happen to be exactly the same kind I used to make my Rustic Fence American Flag. Naturally, I had to ask her if I could take some. She was so thrilled that she offered to help drive them up to my place in her truck…for good measure, I threw in this perfect pallet that she was also tossing. I am such a good neighbor. 🙂
I decided that this pallet could be put to use right away to give my old glass top coffee table a new life, sort of like I did with my Pallet Top Table, except I used a fun triangle pattern on that project. With my Sawzall I quickly cut through the nails so I could use the pallet boards, I love using pallet wood and this is the easiest fastest way to get great unbroken boards.
How to Update a Glass Top Coffee Table with Pallet Wood
The first thing I did was measure the length of the inset area (where the glass rested) and used that measurement to cut my pallet planks. I cut one board made sure it fit, and the used it to measure and cut the rest of my boards.
When I laid my boards on the table I noticed about an inch of space left. Since I was not wanting any gaps I decided to cut a pallet “length wise” at an inch wide. Because I don’t have a table saw I decide to “rip” my wood with my jigsaw.
Here are my pallet pieces nice and snug in their new home! It was at this point that I decided to do a shelf, because who doesn’t want more storage? Plus I had a few more pallet planks that needed a job, so why not!
Here you can see I am trying out what is left of my pallet wood to see if it will work as a lower shelf. If beggars were choosers I would have liked at least one more plank of pallet wood. But, I did have one…so I just went with it.
I found some scrap pieces of 1×2 wood in my pile and glued and nailed them onto both sides of the table to act as shelf supports. I decided to use 2×4’s to get the shelf supports at the right height, plus then I didn’t have to measure. 🙂
My original plan was to paint the coffee table base, but as I was working on the project I really wanted to keep the original wood finish, it was in great condition. So I looked for a stain in my stash that would match, and red oak was the winner. I used it to stain my shelf supports, and then I also went over the rest of the table base to help uniform the color. It may not be perfect but I was quite happy with the result.
Because I decided to keep the stained base, I knew I had to add some color to the pallet wood. So I grabbed a bunch of colors, mostly blues, greens, grays, and white. I used the cut off scraps of pallets to test my colors. I ended up using the above colors and simply dry brushed them onto the pallets with a chip brush. I did the same technique on my Large Storage Crates. I love the texture it adds by bringing out the rustic grains in the wood. I did more color on some boards and less on others, and lightly layered colors on most. The best part is it doesn’t have to be perfect! Oh, and I used a natural stain over all the pallet boards after I painted them, it really helps to warm up the wood while making the colors pop.
*Tip* On rustic pallet or reclaimed wood, darker stains tend to really soak into the wood and look like paint…so please test on a scrap piece before you stain to make sure you are getting the look you want.
Above I have laid out my finished boards where I want them. Next up? Nailing them on. You could use glue if you want.
I coated it with a few coats of poly to seal it, sanding with 400 grit sand paper after coats 1 and 2. That is it, a bright fun coffee table for free!
You might think it weird that the top and bottom slats run different directions, but I think it adds character! That is why DIY is so fun, you can do what ever you want!
I am really liking the dark table base with the lighter slats…I am glad I didn’t paint it.
When I brought it into my living area in the kitchen my dog Sunny totally approved. She had to curl up next to it.
The bottom shelf worked out, even if I would have liked one more board. 🙂
There is a lot of room for storage on the bottom shelf. Wouldn’t it be great for a couple of nice sized baskets to store toys in for the kiddo’s? Or for magazines?
Do you have an old glass top coffee table you could save with some pallet wood? I hope so, it is such a fun and easy way to get a custom piece in your home! If you don’t…check your local Craig’s list or KSL (if you live in Utah) or freecycle, you would be surprised what you can find in the free section!
Thank you so much for reading!
Hugs,
Mindi
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More ways to use an old pallet:
charging station (desktop or wall-mount)
or a deck!
We love hearing from fellow Remodelaholics, so let us know what you like about this and leave any questions below in the comments. If you've followed a tutorial or been inspired by something you've seen here, we'd love to see pictures! Submit pictures here or by messaging us over on Facebook.
This is so beautiful! If I hadn’t just made a coffee table I would be so tempted to replicate it! Great use of re purposed items!
Thank you so much Rebekah, gotta love free! 🙂
Mindi,
I love how you gave this ordinary coffee table a fun and useful purpose! The table looks great and I love the colors!
gail
Thank you Gail! I am such a sucker for blue and green, I couldn’t help myself! Hugs!
Oh my! I recently came across a sofa table with a very badly damaged pressed wood insert on the top and shelf on the bottom. I’ve already removed the damaged pieces and was planning to do the EXACT same thing! I’m so glad I saw your post first, because now I KNOW it will look ahhhhhhhmazing! Thanks for the visual!!!
Aww thanks!! Glad you got a visual for your project lol! Good luck!
I really love how this turned out. When it comes to reuse and recycle projects, I’m always in. This definitely worth a try. Thanks for sharing.
I love to reuse and recycle projects, I hope you do give it a try it is super fun and easy!
Oh Mindi, this is a wonderful remake! 🙂 Love the colors AND I like the planks going different directions. Plus the spacing in the boards below also adds character. I’m saving this idea! 🙂 Thank you!!
Yay Christina! I am so glad you like my different direction planks with the extra spacing! I appreciate your comment! 🙂
Love it! Mindi, you always have such great ideas on reusing pieces of wood and furniture. Your always an inspiration. 🙂 The table looks wonderful and I truly love the colors you uses. Well done, my friend. 🙂
Julie you are always so sweet, thank you so much!!
what are the demensions of the table? I would like to try and make my own!
Hi Justin! I am so glad you want to make your own! The table dimensions are: 48″ wide, 24″ deep, and 18 3/4″ tall. Good luck!