Faux Metal Coffee Table | Free Plans

These Free Faux Metal Coffee Table Plans are an easy beginner-intermediate project for the DIY’er!

The year was 2018, and Alicia set out to find the world’s perfect coffee table. One that fits perfectly into her design plans for our newly renovated basement. We scoured every store within a 150-mile radius, every online shop (that was within our price range), and every classified and auction site locally.

Nuthin’. Nada. Zilch.

At least nothing that was exactly what Alicia had in mind. So, if you’ve been following my wife at all, you’ll know that she doesn’t settle for anything less than her vision.

That’s where I come in.

Usually, I get a detailed description of what she’s looking for and I (try to) turn it into a reality. Think Joanna Gaines and Clint Harp-eske requests. Like this Restoration Hardware Inspired Printmaker’s Coffee Table, or Corner TV Stand I built.

But, the coffee table she had in mind had a metal base and that’s a problem because I have no idea how to do metalwork. None.

I suppose I could have found someone locally to make the base for me, but I had an idea…

What if I could make the wood look like metal? Hmmmm. Plus, it would be safer with two small kids walking and crawling around. Wood is a little bit more forgiving (sometimes) than metal.

So, I teamed up with our friends at Kreg to come up with a plan for this coffee table. The base of the design is simple and easy to assemble with your Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. The real work is in the preparation of the wood for the base.

First, finding the right wood is key. I used framing lumber but I purchased 2 x 10’s and cut them down to the actual size of 1 1/2″ x 1/2″.

Why didn’t I just buy 2 x 2’s you ask?

Well, here’s a piece of advice for you. When you buy 2 x 2 lumber it’s typically finger-jointed. That means it’s weaker, more susceptible to warping, and has a lot more imperfections. Find the straightest 2 x 10’s, with the least amount of warping and visible imperfections, such as cracking and knots, and cut those down to 1.5″ strips. I don’t think I’ll ever buy 2 x 2’s again…actually I know I won’t because it yields much better results.

Next, routing all of the edges using my Kreg Router Table and then sanding all sides as smooth as possible and using a matte/flat black spray paint are the keys to what makes this look like real metal. The smoother the finish, the more it will look like metal!

The design Alicia and I came up with had a thicker top. At one point I contemplated adding a storage component to it. The top would lift up and you could store magazines and remotes inside it. But, with two small kids, I like to limit the number of places they could get their hands caught. I still used plywood to give it the illusion of a thicker piece of wood on top, but with the price of plywood.

You could easily adapt this plan to add some hinges to the top and a bottom inside the top to add storage.

If you want to give build this coffee table, you can hop on over to Kreg’s DIY project plan site, BuildSomething.com and get it for free! While you’re there, you will find a lot of other great DIY project plans for all skill levels!

This post was sponsored by Kreg Tool. All thoughts and opinions are my own.