Custom Furniture: DIY Couch Table

Our living room is a bit awkward; as soon as you enter the front door you’re standing right in the middle of it. It’s not very big either, so it offered some design challenges when it came to furnishing it.

We searched high and low to find the right couch and finally settled on a cozy sectional that fit the space perfectly, extending the full width of the living room wall and offering maximum seating. Unfortunately there wasn’t any room leftover for end tables and a coffee table would have made the space feel cramped.

I determined that what was needed was a couch table; a narrow table that would fit snugly behind the back of the couch.

After an exhaustive search it became clear that such a piece of furniture was not readily available and would need to be custom built. A combination of frugality and ambition made me decide to attempt this on my own.

I had 2″x12″ planks of spruce cut to the exact measurements of the height and width of the couch at the local building supply store and picked up some wood glue, 4″ wood screws, sandpaper, wood putty and a walnut colored stain.

I laid the top piece of the table on the floor and used wood glue to carefully secure the legs of the table in place. After allowing the glue to dry over night, I carefully flipped it over and used a drill bit to create 3 equally spaced, 4″ deep holes, extending through the top of the table and into the legs. After I’d drilled the screws into the holes, I used the wood putty to cover over the tops of the screws. Next, I sanded the entire piece and once the sawdust had been cleared away, I gave it 2 coats of the walnut stain.

The couch table is a great solution for our living room. Structurally speaking, there’s definitely room for improvement (I will not be dancing on this particular table), but as a surface for a lamp, a few books and a few drinks it’s perfect!