Friends, I am super excited to share with you how to make a DIY $40 farmhouse style coffee table. If you love quality furniture and farmhouse style décor, this budget-friendly farmhouse DIY coffee table is a must try! This beautiful farmhouse inspired coffee table will look like you purchased it from a high-end furniture store, but this gorgeous coffee table DIY only cost me about $40.00 to make! Wouldn’t this cute farmhouse coffee table make the best Christmas present for the special people in your life?!

Materials needed:

(4) 2x4x8’s OR (2) 2x4x10’s – I broke these measurements down for you in step 1.
(5) 8 foot Furring strips – I broke these measurements down for you in step 1.
chop saw or someone to cut the boards for you
box of 2 1/2 inch screw
shorter screws for adding the top and bottom stained boards at the end.
drill & drill bits both for pre-drilling and screwing
Gloves
an old surface to work on
Min wax stain – dark walnut
old rag for staining
white chalk paint
sanding block
chip brush

Step 1. Gather your wood materials needed. For this coffee table project, you will need your wood cut to the following:

(5) 15 inch 2x4s

(4) 18 inch 2x4s

(4) 38 inch 2x4s

(5) 42 inch furring strips

(10) 18 ¼ inch furring strips

*I believe I used about 60-70 screws for this project. You will mostly need 2.5 inch screws, but you will want to get a few smaller sized screws for completing the top part of the coffee table.

Step 2. Be sure to work on an old surface and wear gloves as you will be working with stain. Using Minwax stain in the color “Dark Walnut” begin to stain all of your boards using a paint brush. Be sure to stain all sides of the boards. Allow to dry.

Step 3. Start to frame the coffee table. Use 2 of the 38 inch 2x4s for the base/length of the coffee table, and run those parallel to one another. Next, use (2) of the 15 inch 2x4s to place at each end of the 38 inch 2x4s to make the bottom frame for your coffee table, creating a rectangle shaped base. Next, the (4) 18 inch 2x4s will serve as the 4 legs of your coffee table. You will need to predrill to keep the screws from splitting your wood, and then use screws to hold all of the wood in place for your frame and the 4 legs of the coffee table. *When I pre-drill, I do not go all the way in, I go most of the way in on the first board because if you go too far in when you put the screw in it won’t grab onto the piece of wood because you’ve drilled all that out, so be careful. I used 2.5 inch screws for this project. You will want to counter sink your screws. Be sure to hold everything tight and even as you are screwing all of your wood together. You may need someone to help you with this.

Step 4. Flip the table up so you can now start to box it in by repeating the same process as in Step 3. Put your long boards in first (the remaining (2) 38 inch 2x4s and predrill first and then put your screws in. Next, add your other (2) 15 inch 2x4s at each end of the table, predrilling first and then adding the screws to hold everything together. Now, your frame for the coffee table will be finished and securely screwed together.

Step 5. Next, use a paint brush and paint the entire frame of the coffee table with white chalk paint. Allow table to dry.

Step 6. Now we will begin working with the furring strips. Use Minwax stain in “Dark Walnut” and stain all of the furring strips. Allow to dry.

Step 7. Once the coffee table has dried from being painted with white chalk paint, use a sanding block and sand over the entire table you have made so far to scuff it up a bit. This will help to create a farmhouse style look.

Step 8. Using your remaining 15 inch 2×4, use a chop saw to shave a little bit off so it fits very snug in the center of your coffee table, and tap it down into place using a hammer. This board should be sunken down in the center a bit so that when you lay your furring strips over the top of your coffee table they are even/flat. The purpose of this board is to later help to secure the top boards for your coffee table top. Then, predrill this on both sides and use a screw to secure in place on both sides. *You want to keep this board stained and do not paint it white, otherwise the white paint will show through when you put the top of your coffee table on.

Step 9. We will now work on the bottom of the coffee table. Take the 10 stained smaller size furring strips (18 ¼ inch) and place one at each end of the bottom of the coffee table first. I recommend placing one furring strip at each end first for this step. Predrill first and then screw the furring strips into place. Next, take your remaining 8 smaller size stained furring strips and lay them across the bottom of your table to see how much space you will need between each strip so that the spacing is even. Then, predrill and then drill all of the remaining furring strips down to your coffee table to secure them in place to complete the bottom of your coffee table.

Step 10. Take your 5 larger stained furring strips (the 42 inch furring strips), and lay them horizontally across the top of the coffee table. Space those out a tiny bit so that the spacing between each board is even. *Be sure to place your end boards on first to help with even spacing. *Also, you will need smaller screws for the top furring strip boards so the screws do not go through the 2×4 you secured earlier in the center of your coffee table. Predrill, and then screw the furring strips down into place to secure them to the coffee table. This will be the top of your coffee table. Enjoy your beautiful farmhouse style coffee table!