How to Make a Simple Upcycled DIY Sofa Table

The finishing pieces are being added to the ultimate family hangout room.

And one of those pieces is a simple upcycled DIY sofa table.

Steph had in mind a large sofa table running along the back of her sectional.

One where the kids could sit on a stool and have snacks while watching a movie.

Because of the size and versatility of the sofa table, we knew this would be a DIY project.

And as we were brainstorming about our ideas, I remembered that I had the benches and table base in my basement leftover from my laundry room fold table.

After taking a look at the benches and table base in my basement, we decided that it would be perfect!

And the project would be mostly free!

You’ve gotta love that!

In addition, we are always up for a good upcycle project like this.

For more inspiring DIY upcycling ideas see our 50 Amazing Flea Market Flips.

Another furniture upcycle we made for this room is the round farmhouse style coffee table.

Also welcome to week 7 of the One Room Challenge!

So much progress has been made and now we are focusing on the furniture, window coverings, lighting and decor.

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Be sure to subscribe to our FREE newsletter so you don’t miss any of the projects in this basement family room.

Also you’ll want to follow us on Instagram for behind the scenes progress and updates!

Be sure to join us each week to check our progress!

Also on the One Room Challenge website, you’ll find lots of ideas for updating any space in your home.

Projects in Our One Room Challenge

You can easily navigate through each week of this ultimate modern coastal family room project below.

Week 1 – How to Make a Built In Entertainment Center
Week 2 – How to Make a Simple Cabinet Box
Week 3 – How to DIY an Epoxy Countertop to Look Like Marble!
Week 4 – How to Easily Install a Laminate Floor Over Concrete
Week 5 – Add Old World Charm with a Simple Brick Backsplash
Week 6 – How to Make a Built In Reading Nook in a Closet
Week 7 – You are here!
Week 8 – Reveal Day! Basement Family Room Ideas on a Budget

Upcycled DIY Sofa Table Supplies

A dining table base with 2 dining table benches stacked on top of it.

First, let’s take a look at the table base and benches that we will turn into two DIY sofa tables.

While the bench tops are wood, they are a veneer.

So we’ll want to remove the old finish with a stripper.

In fact, removing the old finish by sanding can be tricky.

Often the veneer is so thin you’ll sand through the veneer into the sub-wood, which isn’t pretty.

We will disassemble the benches and use the wood top.

And remove the cross bar from the table base and cut the table legs into four legs for our DIY sofa tables.

Other supplies we used:

Remove Old Finish

Steel wool, stainless steel bowl and Minwax antique furiture refinisher setting on large plank of wood.

First we want to remove the old finish from the bench top.

I believe the fastest way to remove a varnish or shellac finish is with the Minwax furniture refinisher.

With this product the finish dissolves in just a few minutes, much faster than a paint stripper.

But this product will not work if your finish is a polyurethane.

To see if your finish is a varnish or shellac, use a cotton swab with acetone on it and apply to the wood.

If it becomes tacky, then it’s shellac or varnish and if it beads up, it has a polyurethane finish.

A polyurethane finish will need to be removed with a paint stripper.

Woman wearing chemical resistant gloved holding steel wool that been dipped in the furniture refinisher.

Before you begin a project like this make sure you have the proper protective gloves and eye-wear.

Safety goggles and chemical resistant gloves are a must!

Begin by pouring a little of the refinisher into a metal or glass container.

Do not use plastic, the refinisher will dissolve plastic.

Then dip a piece of fine steel wool into the refinisher and apply to the finish in a circular motion.

As the finish dissolves, use an old rag or paper towel to wipe off the finish.

Two wood bench tops that are partially stripped of the finish that we will use for the top of our DIY sofa table.

You can see here the finish has been removed on the left side of the wood.

Woman's hand in an orbital sander, sanding the bench top for the DIY sofa table.

Once all of the old finish is removed, you can sand the surface lightly with fine grit sandpaper and an orbital sander.

Then remove dust with a tack cloth.

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Apply Stain

While you can leave your natural wood color, we wanted to apply a stain to our yellow pine.

Before applying stain to a soft wood like pine always first apply a pre-stain wood conditioner.

This will ensure that your stain goes on evenly and will reduce the look of a blotchy appearance that often happens with pine.

Allow the wood conditioner to sit on the wood 30 minutes before applying the stain.

Woman's gloved hand applying stain to wood for the DIY sofa table.

Next apply the stain either with a brush or with a lint free cloth.

Allow stain to sit on the wood surface for about 10 minutes.

We are using an oil based stain, however if you choose to use a water based stain you want to see our tips for professional results.

Woman's gloved hand holding a cotton rag wiping off stain from wood top.

Then wipe with a clean lint free cloth.

Allow the wood stain to fully dry before applying a finish.

Waxing

While there are many options for wood finishes, for our DIY sofa table we decided to apply a wax.

Wax is not only a great finish for a chalk painted surface, but it’s also great when you are looking for a natural wood look.

At first, our plan was to just apply a clear wax.

We love the beautiful finish you get with a wax and you can easily add more coats of wax at any time.

But even after the stain, the yellow color of the pine was still very prominent, so we opted to apply a combination of clear and dark wax.

Woman's hand applying was Drilling a hole in a piece of wood for the leg of the sofa table.

For this method, we like to place a little clear wax and dark wax on a paper plate.

Then using our waxing brush we first pick up a little clear wax onto the brush, then a little dark wax.

At this time, mix the two waxes together on the paper plate, then apply to the wood surface in a circular motion.

I really love this method because you can control the intensity of the dark wax much easier.

Also, the dark wax will gravitate to the imperfections in the wood and add that vintage character we love.

Cover your entire surface with the wax and then let the wax fully dry.

Woman holding a buffer, buffs waxed boards for the top of the Drilling a hole in a piece of wood for the sofa table.

Once the wax is fully dry, buff it with a soft lint free cloth or with a buffer.

Upcycled DIY Sofa Table Legs

Make Cuts

For the legs for our DIY sofa table we plan to use the farmhouse style legs from the dining table.

The leg of an old dining table clamped to the work bench with pencil lines for the cuts that need to be made.

Once they are disassembled we marked the cuts we needed to make on each leg.

Because the bottom of the table leg was arched, we decided to cut off 1″ from the bottom.

We secured a cutting guide with clamps and used the circular saw to make the cut.

Woman holding circular saw against a metal cutting guide cutting the legs for the DIY sofa table.

Next we need to cut the leg in half.

First, we marked the center and made two additional marks 1/2″ from the center.

Again, using the cutting guide, we used the circular saw to cut the table leg in half.

Woman's hands holding the leg from an old dining table at the table saw, trimming off the edge.

We also felt that the table leg at the bottom protruded too far out.

So we trimmed it off a bit.

The 4 legs that have been cut from an old dining table legs for the DIY sofa table.

Now we have four sofa table legs.

Our plan is to make two 6′ long sofa tables, each with 2 legs.

Make Sofa Table Leg Taller

Generally a dining table is a little shorter than a sofa table, so we needed to come up with a way to make each leg a little taller.

Woman's hand pushing a piece of wood through the table saw.

We had some scraps of wood from the coffee table we are making for the family room and it turned out to be just what we needed to add some height to the leg.

First we trimmed down this wood so that it would be about 1/4″ wider than the current sofa table leg.

Drilling a hole in a piece of wood for the leg of the sofa table.

Then using a 3/8″ wood drill bit we drilled two holes 1/2″ deep.

This will allow us to have the screw recessed in this piece and will not be directly on the wood floor.

Next we drilled pilot holes for our screws.

Woman's hand holding sofa table leg as screws are inserted.

And finally we secured the piece of wood to the bottom of the sofa table leg with wood glue and two wood screws.

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Attach Mounting Cleat

Not only did we need a way to attach the leg to the table, but we also needed to raise the sofa table another 1 1/2″.

A piece of pine wood with 2 countersink drilled holes is being centered over the sofa table leg.

So we decided to attach a cleat to the top of the leg, which will in turn attach to the sofa table top.

To begin, we made the cleat out of a 2×6 pine board.

The board was cut long enough to have the same amount of overlap in the front as the two sides.

First we drilled a 3/8″ wide hole for the screw to sit down in and then drilled pilot holes for our screws.

Woman with drill inserts screws into wood for the DIY sofa table leg.

Then each cleat was secured to each leg with wood glue and two wood screws.

Apply Finish to DIY Sofa Table Legs

Next we’re ready to apply a finish to the sofa table legs.

We chose to use a white chalk paint and applied three coats to cover the dark stain that was on the legs.

Woman's hand hoding purple sandpaper distressing the legs of the sofa table.

And then distressed the edges with sandpaper.

Woman's hand holding a waxing brush. Applying clear wax to the white chalk painted sofa table leg.

Finally to protect the paint, we applied a clear wax with a waxing brush.

After the wax is dry buff the legs with a soft, lint free cloth or a buffer.

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Attach Legs to Sofa Table Top

It’s so fun to see our vision come to life.

We are now ready to attach the legs to the sofa table top.

Woma's hand holding a drill, drilling pilot holes into the top of the sofa table leg.

First we drilled pilot holes in the four corners of the cleat.

Woman's hand holding drill, making a countersink hole in the sofa table leg.

Then we used a countersink bit to make a recessed area in the wood for the screws.

Woman's hand holding drill inserting wood screw to secure the sofa table to the table top.

And then we secured each leg to the sofa table tops.

When deciding the placement of the legs, we had to make an adjustment.

At first we had the back of the leg flush with the back of the table, but the sofa table was not stable.

So, we ended up centering the leg on the table top and 8 1/2″ in on each side.

That worked perfectly!

Simple DIY Upcycled Sofa Table

I love the way these sofa tables turned out.

By putting the sofa tables side by side we have the perfect length for the large sectional.

It’s the perfect spot for the kids to enjoy their snack in the ultimate family hangout room.

How to Make a Simple Upcycled DIY Sofa Table

Not only do these sofa tables have a farmhouse, cottagecore vibe, but I think they’re also perfect for Steph’s coastal look in her family room.

We hope you found a little inspiration here today.

So tell me, are you ready to upcycle an old dining table into something grand for your home?

We find it so rewarding to take an old discarded piece and breathe new life into it.

Do you also like to re-imagine old pieces of furniture?

Then take a look at these ideas:

What’s your favorite piece you’re transformed for your home?

Also remember to check next week as we reveal the completed ultimate family hangout room.

What are your favorite elements in this room so far?

We’d love to hear from you!

Please share your thoughts and questions with us.

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WE HOPE TO BRING YOUR HOME TO THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET.

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This Post Has 2 Comments

Daniel June 1, 2022 Reply

Good project , I followed on pinterest.
1. Michelle Dickson June 2, 2022 Reply
  
  Thank you Daniel. I love it when we are able to upcycle something that may be heading for the trash. And the beautiful of if is that it works perfect for our space.