Our living room has been craving a coffee table like mad. What we needed was something wooden and sturdy to add a natural feature to the feel of the space. Think Pottery Barn’s Camden Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table. Getting one of those would be a step in the right direction – if you can afford a $700 step, that is.
To no success, I scoured thrift and antique stores for something with a rustic or farmhouse-y look. And then! My mind stumbled upon an old IKEA dining table I used in college, currently in storage up at my parent’s house. It’s the Jokkmokk table, to be exact.
It was a bit beat up and certainly pretty useless as a coffee table in its current condition.
So, we transformed him into this!
First, we chopped the legs off to about a 15 inch height and gave the table a fresh coat of black paint.
Up at Home Depot we picked up eight 1 x 1 x 4′s and had the friendliest associate ever known to man slice them up for us. Seriously, if you’re the manager of that Home Depot and reading this blog (unlikely) give this guy a raise.
With the help of Dave’s mom, we got to work sanding and staining. This was my first time ever staining wood and it is extraordinarily easy. Since this project, I’m always digging around our house for more things to stain.
We applied two coats and allowed to dry over night. The next day, all we needed was a quick sand down of the surface, some construction adhesive ($4 at Lowe’s), and clamps.
We allowed the glue to clamp for about 24 hours before giving him two coats of polyurethane. Now he’s all moved into his new home!
We love it! Our humble little living room has come a long way.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I LOVE it!! Can u tell me the stain you used!?! We need (want) a coffee table. (As if my daughter doesn’t have enough to climb on, LoL)!! I’ve been looking but just haven’t found “the” 1 :-) I do believe I’ll be attempting this in the very near future!! Thank u so much for sharing :-)
I used Minwax “Provincial.” Hope your project goes great if you try it!
What kind of paint did you use? I’m curious because without a ton of sanding, I’m not sure any paint would stick to my Jokkmokk table! Thanks!
To be honest, I can’t remember. But ours is chipping a bit. I’ll let you know when we do any fixes and what we find works.
xo
rach
I love your ceativity. It turned out beautiful.
Thank you, Gail! We love it too.
xo
rach
We are in the process right now of making this table. We were at Lowe’s at 9:30 AM yesterday morning. We alrady painted our table and have one coat of stain on the top part. Thank you so much for the idea!! I’ll post a picture when it’s completed!
That’s so great! You MUST send me pictures! I hope you love yours as much as we love ours!
Love,
rach
Wow – that is beautiful and more.
Thanks : ) you made it possible
love,
rach
Bea-u-ti-ful use of that table. I like the little board in the middle.
thanks borz! glad you’re pleased
Beautiful! I love a good Ikea hack. That is such a great idea to add the wood planks to the top of the table. I might have to try this one! :)
Thanks! We are really please with it. I love IKEA hacks too! You must share if you end up doing one :)
love,
rach