Shannon from AKA Design + Life and her husband had been talking abut building a larger coffee table for their living room for some time.
Their vision would be sourced from either Ballard Designs or Restoration Hardware…but they finally pulled the trigger during a Creating with the Stars competition.
A wood and metal table with “so much rustic industrial goodness…” caught their eyes. Although you wouldn’t know it, their wood and “metal” table is actually made completely of wood, making it very DIY-friendly.
When you look at how this DIY table turned out so special, there are a few things that Shannon put into it to make it all happen. Call these things secrets or call them simple how-tos, it’s awesome stuff!
Let’s take a look and organize the info from Shannon’s project into this quick magic list:
All Wood, Baby
One of the biggest aspects of this table that stands out is how much the base looks like metal. As Shannon is quick to point out, she and her husband used wood for the entire table.
In fact, the wood used is just pine. The bottom resembles metal (a lot!), and that’s exactly what they intended.
Multiple Layers of Stain
Shannon recommends a Minwax oil-based stain for the table top planks. She put on three layers of this high-quality stain.
This gave her the depth of color she wanted, but it also gave the table top a level of protection. So…she did not use any poly at the end and has had no issues.
White Wash at the End
To get her final weathered, farmhouse look, Shannon mixed some white paint and water and threw on a white wash over her dried stain.
You don’t need much, but it’s personal preference based on how far you want to go. Any white paint will do…just nothing glossy; flat is best.
Use an Awesome Metallic Paint
Now we get to the base…the bottom…the legs. Who knew that legs could be so important to the look of a simple, square coffee table?
Well, in this one they are!
That’s because Shannon used a great product from Rust-Oleum. Their Metallic Accents Paint did the trick very nicely.
Rust-Oleum Metallic Accents Paint for Table Legs
If you’re not familiar, this water-based paint is made to appear more vibrant as different light plays off of it.
It dries quickly (about 30-minutes) and when complete, you’ll notice a shimmer to the finished surfaces that’s very similar to metal. The effect is that it really calls out the color.
The Metallic Accents paint comes in a variety of colors of course. Shannon did her DIY table’s legs in Rich Brown. And boy, does it look good!
Add Decorative Bolts
Finally, it’s worth mentioning the little touch that Shannon put into this table. And that’s the bolts inserted on the side of the top itself.
Call it her nod to industrial. It’s the kind of accent you don’t see right away, but it’s certainly the cherry on top.
The original inspiration came from the Brickmaker’s Coffee Table from Restoration Hardware.
Personally, RH should think about just selling Shannon’s version of the table as her turned out even better!
For the complete tutorial, complete with diagrams, dimensions, material an cuts lists, head on over to Shannon’s site at AKA Design + Life.