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DIY Slatted Coffee Table with Hairpin Legs

October 20, 2020 By Erin Spain 6 Comments

I’m still in the middle of making over our playroom and turning it into a “tween” hangout, so stay tuned for that full makeover soon! Today I’m showing you how to make a DIY slatted coffee table with hairpin legs, which is one of the projects I did for the room. This is an easy and inexpensive project and you could customize it with whatever stain or paint you choose.

DIY slatted coffee table with hairpin legs.

Project Supply List:

(Affiliate links included. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

  • 1×2 boards
  • Wood Glue
  • Silicone Glue Brush (optional)
  • Brad Nailer
  • 1 1/4” Brad Nails
  • Sander
  • Stain (I used Varathane in the color “Provincial”)
  • Satin Wipe-on Poly
  • Staining Pads
  • Foam brush
  • Hairpin Legs
  • Rusty Metal Primer
  • Gold Spray Paint
  • Saw
  • Measuring Tape
  • Pencil
  • Drill/Driver (I love this new compact set!)
  • 1/2″ Screws

Step 1: Cut Your Wood

First, I cut my 1×2 boards into 10 pieces at 3 ft long each and 9 pieces at 16” long each. I used my miter saw for this but any saw will do. You could also change the width of this table and determine how many slats you want it to have, and modify the amount of boards you cut accordingly.

Cutting wood with a miter saw.

Step 2: Sand

After I cut my wood, I gave it a good sanding with my random orbit sander.

Sanding wood with a RYOBI random orbit sander.

Step 3: Attach Your Boards

Next, I turned the boards on their side and marked the center point of each one. Then I lined up the center points and attached them, starting with a long board and then alternating between short and long, and I attached them using wood glue and my brad nailer with 1 1/4” brad nails. You could just glue and clamp them if you prefer but this just seemed quicker and easier.

Erin Spain building a DIY slatted coffee table.

Erin Spain building a DIY slatted coffee table.

Step 4: Sand Again

After all of my boards were glued and nailed together, I allowed the glue to cure overnight. Then I gave it another good sanding just to make sure all of the glue residue was removed and everything was smooth.

Sanding DIY tabletop with a RYOBI sander.

Step 5: Spray Paint Hairpin Legs

In the meantime, I cleaned my hairpin legs with acetone. These had previously been painted gold as they were left over from a project I never finished, and the paint had chipped and there was some sticky residue on them. So I cleaned them and then sprayed them with rusty metal primer. I allowed that to dry and then spray painted them with metallic gold spray paint. I also came back and flipped them later to spray paint the top of the base plate because these will be visible from the top of the table. These legs are a little longer than I want for this table so I am going to order short ones, but for now these will do the job. I’ll add a link to the ones that I used here and you can order custom colors and lengths.

Spray painting hairpin legs gold.

Step 6: Stain and Seal

After the glue had cured, I stained my tabletop using Varathane stain in the color “Provincial.” I used a foam brush to get into the nooks and crannies, and then I went over everything with a staining pad just to absorb some of the stain and give it a uniform finish. I allowed the stain to dry and then applied a satin wipe-on poly using a staining pad.

Staining a DIY coffee table top.

Step 7: Attach Legs

After everything had dried, I attached the legs by pre-drilling pilot holes and using 1/2″ screws. I spaced them in 3 inches from the outer edge and lined them up with the second slat from each side. You can position them however you choose though.

Erin Spain attaching hairpin legs to a DIY coffee table.

That’s it!

DIY slatted coffee table with gold hairpin legs.

DIY slatted coffee table with gold hairpin legs.

DIY slatted coffee table with gold hairpin legs.

DIY slatted coffee table with gold hairpin legs.

Be sure to check out the YouTube video for this project here:

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Thanks for visiting!

-Erin

Filed Under: DIY, Furniture, Playroom, Popular Posts, Tutorials

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Comments

  1. Giftbasketworldwide says

    October 28, 2020 at 8:52 am

    Now, that’s what called Perfection. Keep up!!

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      November 8, 2020 at 9:16 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Phoebe says

    January 27, 2021 at 9:08 pm

    Would this design be sturdy enough to use as a bench?

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      February 1, 2021 at 6:40 pm

      It should be! I would maybe make the solid portion slightly longer and the slatted portion shorter so there is more solid support.

      Reply
  3. K. Owens says

    March 22, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    This is Beautufil! – KJO

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      March 23, 2021 at 9:35 am

      Thank you!

      Reply

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