DIY Sofa Table from Scrap Wood

Want to learn how to create your own simple DIY sofa table? I’ve created mine out of scrap wood. I’ve shared a quick tutorial on how to make a simple X Style table with 2 by 4’s and a large piece of scrap wood for the table top.

Do you let your kids eat in front of the TV? Or should I ask, do YOU eat in front of the TV? Some folks might call me a bad mom but I do! Since our living room is detached from the dining area, this means that in order to eat in the living room you have to sit directly on the couch. We don’t have a TV view from the kitchen table. This was actually a plus for me when we purchased our home.

That being said, every now and then it’s nice to have somewhere to sit my plate and eat. This is why I decided to create my own DIY sofa table from leftover wood.

My inspiration for this couch table project came from Facebook. I saw a picture of a sofa table and thought I needed one! And everyone has a little scrap wood lying around right? When you are done with a project, don’t throw the left overs away!

Back to the project at hand; I love the idea of being able to hang out in the living room AND have a small flat surface to put something like a plate! I looked around online to see if I could find a few affordable sofa tables to purchase. I noticed when I searched sofa tables, console tables also showed up. Since they are similar sizes, you could use a console table for a sofa table too! This was the perfect solution. Ultimately, it all depends on the size of your sofa and your specific measurements.

As usual, when I can’t find a piece of furniture I want, then I realize it’s time to create my own furniture piece.

The cool thing about this DIY table is that most supplies needed you either have at home already or can get easily at the hardware store.

Table of Contents

Materials for the DIY X Style Sofa Table

Large slab of wood – I happened to have a piece left over from the DIY hairpin leg table.
Inside corner braces
Miter Saw
Drill
Wood screws
2 by 4 by 8′ long – the height of your table will determine how many you need
Paint
Wood filler or Spackling
Wood glue
Pine boards
sandpaper

How to build a DIY Sofa Table

In an nutshell;

Measure the height of your sofa to determine how tall you want the sofa table. I wanted the top of the table to sit high enough so it was flush with the back of the sofa.
Cut the table top slab of wood to the desired dimensions. My table top slab is 16″ deep by 6′ wide.
Make angled cuts on miter saw for the first cross hair on the X. This was a trial and error process for me until I figured out the right angle I wanted. The easiest way for me to explain this is to show you below.
I used wood screws to drill into the table top. Hindsight, using pocket holes with pocket screws would make it less difficult to cover up the screw holes.
The last thing I did for stability was to add 4 corner braces to each of the legs.
Add wood filler or spackling.
Sand the table down so it’s smooth.
Paint

You can see I laid the top piece on another countertop to make sure I had the right angle cuts for the side pieces. This is a good idea if you don’t have precise measurements.

side view of building the X style sofa table

You can see below the two pieces of wood fit flush against the table top.

The moment of truth comes when you apply the level to see if it’s straight. MAKE SURE IT’S LEVEL otherwise the table legs will always wobble.

You can see below where I made a few visual measurements so you can see the angles I used. Since this was a last minute DIY, I didn’t do anything fancy; no pilot holes, no pocket hole jig, etc. Hindsight I would have used pocket holes and gave it a few more finishing touches. I might have even chosen a higher quality wood for the end pieces, LOL. It’s got some rough edges, but nothing a little fine grit sandpaper and wood putty can’t fix, right? Either way, I’ll know what to do for next time I create a narrow sofa table like this.

hardware for sofa table — Lastly, add the corner braces.

You can see the finished product in my living room right behind the couch.

Now it’s time to add wood putty and paint! Wood putty is important to cover all the small gaps in the uneven cuts, especially between the legs and the top wood board.