{Tutorial} Small Herringbone Coffee Table

Thanks for all the nice comments on the Herringbone Table I shared with you last week. I’d planned to post the tutorial on Friday but, you know, life just gets in the way sometimes.

Today I wanted to give you a basic rundown on how you can get this look yourself. If you read last week’s post, you saw that I used two parsons-inspired end tables to make the new herringbone table.

Since you aren’t likely to have exactly these same tables, I wanted to show you how you might mimic this look using a very simple, very widely available, and very affordable table on the market: the Ikea Lack table, which comes in several different colors and rings in at a mere $9.99.

The big difference here will be that you won’t be able to stain the whole table since it’s not solid wood. These would be great candidates for a painted table though, or you could stain the wood parts you add to the top and go for a two-tone effect. You could also hunt down something similar in wood to be able to stain the whole table.

The size will also be different than the one I made. The Lack tables are a perfect square and I added some pieces to my table to make it a slightly rectangular shape. Ikea also makes this table in a coffee table size but I’m not sure how it goes together (it includes a thin lower shelf). You could very possibly use the same treatment on it, I’m just not sure because I haven’t seen it in person. Another option, if you’re looking for a longer coffee table, is to make two of the herringbone tables and sit them side by side as coffee tables, like in this room.

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Regardless of what you choose, you should be able to take the basic idea here and apply it to many different shapes and sizes of tables.

If you choose to give this a shot with the Lack table, you’ll need to purchase two tables, which you can do online HERE in a variety of colors.

To make a finished table that’s about the right height for a coffee table, you’d cut the four legs at the bottom (I used a miter saw) to be 12″ long then attach them to the table top per Ikea’s assembly instructions. For the bottom shelf piece you flip the table top with legs attached upside down, position the other table top upside down on top of the legs, and attach using a couple screws or several nails through the underside of the shelf and into each of the legs.

To add those decorative feet at the base, you’ll need to purchase four furniture feet and four mounting plates. I got these at Lowes:

Attach the mounting plates at the four corners and then screw the decorative feet in place.

Now for that herringbone top!

You’ll want to flip the table over so the top is facing up and mark the center of the table with a line.

I used 1×3 pine boards for the top and my herringbone pattern had four rows, so I sketched out the center two rows first, right on the table, to be sure everything would be straight. I used a nailgun and small brad nails to attach each of the pieces to the tabletop underneath. After the two center sections were complete I cut the pieces for the edges one by one.

As you lay the pieces, you want to alternate sides so they puzzle together just right.

My advice for cutting the outer pieces that will sit flush with the edge of the table is to cut them just slightly longer (1/8″ inch or so) than your measurement. It’s better to have them overhang the edge slightly than be too short. When you’ve finished, you can use an electric sander and coarse sandpaper to quickly get the edges perfectly even and flush with the edge of the tabletop underneath.

Once your herringbone pattern is finished and the edges are sanded, you’re ready to add the border pieces around the edges of the top and the bottom shelf. For the top border I used 1x4s and for the bottom edge I used 1x2s. You simply measure the sides carefully and cut each piece with a 45º angle at the corners. I found it helpful to cut one piece at a time, attach it the the table, and then measure the next side adjacent to it, cut that piece, attach it, and so on. You want to be as exact as possible here for your corners to line up correctly.

When it’s all finished, give the wood a sanding with fine sandpaper before applying any paint or stain. I used Rustoleum stain in Sunbleached, if you happen to be working with solid wood and want to replicate this color. I also added a top coat of wax after the stain had dried to protect the finish. The wax worked well to fill in some of the nail holes and little gaps between wood pieces too.

And that’s a basic rundown of how you can do this for yourself! Any questions?? I know this tutorial wasn’t as well documented with photos and diagrams as some of my others so if you have questions, ask and I will answer!