Today I’m sharing a brief tutorial for how we made our Mid Century Modern inspired sofa table. It’s created by two components – thrifted hairpin legs and a poplar wood top constructed of 1x12s.
David built the top over the weekend (no photos because I was under the weather, but it really is so simple, I don’t think it needs any!)
First, we selected a poplar board from Home Depot (located in the hard wood section, next to the Oak.) Be sure to examine each board to make sure that it is straight. If it curves, it’s harder to work with. We love poplar because of the variety in the grain and coloring. We chose a board that with a dark stripe down the center – perfect for carrying the grain from the top to the sides.
To get started you will need:
Chop saw
11′ of poplar 1×12
Wood glue
2″ screws
Clamps
Hairpin legs (ours were thrifted 21.5″ tall)
Overall measurements:
60″ W x 27″ H x 11.5″ D
1. With the chop saw, cut the 1×12 poplar wood (good side up) at a 45 degree angle – 5 1/2″, 60″, and 5 1/2″ (outer tip to outer tip) sections. Make sure that you cut the 45 in the correct direction i.e. the 45s should look like a picture frame. Cut in that order (5 1/2″, 60″, and 5 1/2″) so the grain of the wood lines up.
2. Cut a second 60″ piece for the bottom (ours came from a different piece of wood that was similar, so it lines up fairly well, since it’s on the bottom, it’s not as important)
3. Cut (3) 4″ sections at 90 degrees to create the dividers for the center.
4. On the bottom of the bottom board, measure and place the 4″ sections, screw sections in with 2″ screws.
5. Align, glue and clamp the top in place.
6. Glue and clamp side pieces in place.
That’s it! Pretty simple. This would also be great, simple desk – just add a few more inches so it’s taller!
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments! 🙂
Beautiful table. I really like the legs; they give the table an urban feel.
love it – the legs were a great find!!
Thanks for the tutorial! Love it!
Lovely table! Question – so did you guys just use wood glue to hold the sides together? I know it's really strong stuff just surprised there aren't any nails too. Makes for a seamless piece. Thanks for sharing:)
Thanks! 🙂 We've had good luck with wood glue and poplar – being careful that the joints are flush and clamped well while drying makes it very solid. The 45s and middle pieces help too. I wouldn't recommend building a chair or bench this way, but for a console table we feel that it will work well! Thanks for asking, that is something I forgot to mention!
That wood is really pretty!
Absolutely perfect! Those legs are to die for!
Thanks for answering where you buy your poplar 🙂 Love this! I'm thinking it would also look good with wooden tapered legs, if you could find tall enough ones that were the right scale.
I swear Sarah…you guys are ridiculously good!!
What Shavonda said…. seriously… TOO good!
Beautiful! Love the grain (and basically everything about it)!
Also, I've been looking for some simple magazine storage in the living room other than the typical basket or magazine sorter, so I love this solution!