Skip to Content

DIY Barnwood Coffee Table

DIY Faux Barnwood Coffee Table Hack Turn an old, dated coffee table into a fresh new conversation piece for your living room! This was really simple to do, and totally changed the look of our decor. rustic | farm style | farmstyle | Restoration Hardware | inspired | DIY | hack | sofa | barn wood |

I am SUPER excited with the way this table turned out and I had to share it with you all!

coffee table hack

So we had this coffee table. I’m not sure where my husband got it, I think it was a hand-me-down from his parents. It’s not ugly, but it doesn’t fit our decor. I’m not a fan of the orange-y wood so I went back and forth between wanting to get rid of it, and feeling guilty because its a good, solid table. My husband didn’t want to get rid of it, because it does this:

coffee table upcycle

There we were, in a stalemate. Finally I offered a compromise: We could keep the table, but I asked if he would be ok with me refinishing it. He obliged and that brings us to today!

I had seen a lot of tables on Pinterest that I fell in love with. I decided I really liked the ones with grey wood tops that looked like aged barnwood, like the ones by Restoration Hardware, so I got to building my faux barnwood coffee table top.

I rebuilt the top by using 1×4 lumber. The wood was super inexpensive. I believe it was $2.88 per board at Lowe’s.

New tabletop faux barnwood

Once it was all glued together, I used some spare wood to build a brace around the back side to make it sturdy.

Then I bought some grey wood stain to make it look like an aged barnwood coffee table. Unfortunately, the wood stain I bought was too “blue-grey” for my taste. I wanted a warmer grey so I improvised: I used 6 different shades of grey paint to create the look of aged wood. I also used a bit of dark brown mixed with grey to make it look worn and discolored. I wanted the feel to be like it was reclaimed barnwood, without having any barnwood to use. After the paint was dry I sanded gently with a fine sand paper to distress it. I wiped all the dust off then I used three coats of clear coat on the top to ensure it is water-tight in the event of any spills.

[mid]

restoration hardware faux barnwood

If you’re using a coffee table that has a good top already, you can skip the building step and just strip and sand as you did for the base.

Then I stripped the base, sanded it, and repainted it with white latex paint. Two coats and we were ready to rock and roll!

finished barnwood coffee table

I kept the moving mechanism in tact, by simply unbolting the existing top and removing it. That left the brackets in place and I simply reattached the top and VOILA!

Here’s the finished project. I think it only took me a few hours of active work time, not counting the time it took for paint and clear coat to dry.

DIY Faux Barnwood Restoration Hardware Inspired Coffee Table Hack Turn an old, dated coffee table into a fresh new conversation piece for your living room! This was really simple to do, and totally changed the look of our decor. rustic | farm style | farmstyle | Restoration Hardware | inspired | DIY | hack | sofa | barn wood |

It saved us a lot of money to refinish this table versus buying a new one. Plus this is totally custom and unique! It wasn’t hard to do at all, anyone who can use a saw and a drill can definitely make something similar. We’re thrilled with the results!

So now, come on over for a glass of wine and check out our new coffee table. Just use a coaster please! 🙂

What do you think of my faux barnwood coffee table?

[share]

[disclosure]

Friday 24th of July 2015

Well done Rose. I love it!!

Liz Mays

Wednesday 15th of July 2015

It's fantastic! I would totally buy that in a store actually!

Rosey

Tuesday 14th of July 2015

It does look great! I don't think I've ever seen a table that came out like that though, on the hinges. Very cool!

Carol Bryant

Monday 13th of July 2015

WOW that turned out fantastic - thanks for the step by step - love the result.

censie

Monday 13th of July 2015

I love it! Turned out great. Your living space looks amazing! :)