$70 Restoration Hardware Inspired Trestle Door Coffee Table

Hi everyone! It’s Jill from The Rozy Home and I’m here to share one of my favorite projects so far – my version of the Restoration Hardware Trestle Door Coffee Table. But before I go any further, I have to give a huge shout out to the amazingly talented Amy from Her Tool Belt. Without her, the plans that follow would not be possible (thank you Amy)!

This table was a journey. I began looking for the perfect coffee table a few months ago. I looked everywhere you can imagine. I’m not a huge Craigslister (I know, I know) but I even looked there and found nothing. Then one day it happened – I was checking out Restoration Hardware and I saw this beautiful table.

Isn’t it beautiful? You know what wasn’t beautiful? The price tag. At almost $2000 I knew there was no way in the world I would be buying this. I mean, even if  I wanted to spend $2000 on a table, knowing my five-year-old would be near it would end any thoughts of spending that much money. Before getting too attached to the table, I walked over to the Hubs and showed it to him. To my surprise, he loved it. I told him I wanted to build it and he said “just buy it.” Then I told him it was $2000 and he said “just build it.” Woo hoo! Off to Home Depot for wood.

One of the great things about this table is that it is meant to be reclaimed wood. Since I didn’t have time to set out finding old wood, I decided to use furring. I grabbed 2 x 2 furring strips for the base, the x’s and the edge of the top. I purposely picked out the most beat-up and marked-up furring strips to give it the reclaimed look. For the top, I opted for three white board pieces. Again, I looked for boards with knots and imperfections. And finally, I picked up strips of trim to mimic the look of a door. Once I got home, I got to work.

This is where all of you who want to build this should be sending Amy a huge THANK YOU email. I built this table using pictures from a website. For the main pieces, I wrote down all of the angles, but when it came time to do the little X’s, I came a little unglued. Taking what I gave her, Amy was able to recreate the steps I took to build this lovely table. How amazing is that? And now, without further ado, let’s get to it.

How to Build The Rozy Home’s $70 RH Inspired Trestle Door Coffee Table

Materials:

• 12 – 2″ x 2″ x 8′ furring boards (I recommend buying extra because the cuts can get tricky. At less than $2/piece, it pays to have extra on hand).
• 3 – 1″ x 10″ x 6′ common board (around $10 each)
• 24″ trim of your choice (I used stop moulding)
• 1 1/4″ pocket screws
• 2″ pocket screws
• Kreg Jig
• wood filler
• sandpaper
• Nail gun
• 1 1/2 inch nails (for nail gun)
• stain/paint
• top coat

Step 1: Build the top piece.

Cut the common boards to approximately 50 1/4″.

Attach the common boards to each other using 1 1/4″ pocket screws. Cut two furring pieces to 53 1/4″ and two pieces to 27 3/4″. Attach the furring pieces flush to the edges of the common board using 2″ pocket screws.

 

Step 2: Build the bases.

For the large base,  cut two of the furring strips to a length of 51″ and two furring strips to a length of 31 1/4″. Attach the four pieces together using 2″ pocket screws.

For the small base, cut two of the furring strips to a length of 38″ and two furring strips to a length of 18 3/16″. Attach the four pieces together using 2″ pocket screws.

 

Step 3: Attach the small base to the top piece.

Center the small base on the underside of the top piece and attach using screws (I used the same 2″ pocket screws but you could use regular 2″ wood screws).

Step 4: Cut the struts.

Cut the struts to a finished length of 15 7/16″ and at 25 degrees on each end.

 

Step 5: Attach the struts and bottom base.

Attach the struts to the small base using 2″ pocket screws. Note: The spacing is listed on the drawing below.

Next, attach the large base to the center supports using 2″ pocket screws.

Flip the table over so that it is sitting on the base.

Step 6: Cut and attach the corner pieces.

Cut each corner piece (4 total) to a finished length of approximately 16 3/4″. Cut each end with a 25 degree miter and 25 degree bevel (head tilt) on each end.

Attach each corner piece using 2″ pocket screws.

Step 7:  Cut and attach the center X’s.

Cut each center x long piece to a finished length approximately 20 3/16″ with a 40 degree miter and 25 degree bevel (head tilt) on each end. Attach the long piece to the large and small base using your nail gun.

Cut the lower small piece to a finished length of approximately 10 1/8″ with a 40 degree miter and 25 degree bevel (head tilt) on the bottom and approximately a 10 degree miter on the top.

Cut the upper small piece to a finished length of approximately 11″ with a 40 degree miter and 25 degree bevel (head tilt) on the top and approximately a 10 degree miter on the bottom.

Attach the small pieces to the base and the long piece using your nail gun.

Step 8: Cut and attach the right X’s.

Cut the right long piece to a finished length approximately 20″ with a 40 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on each end. Attach the long piece to the large and small base using your nail gun.

Cut the lower small piece to a finished length of approximately 11 1/4″ with a 23 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the bottom and approximately a 27.5 degree miter on the top.

Cut the upper small piece to a finished length of approximately 6 1/6″ with a 23 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the top and approximately a 27.5 degree miter on the bottom.

Attach the small pieces to the base and the long piece using your nail gun.

 

Step 9: Cut and attach the left X’s.

Cut the left long piece to a finished length approximately 16 13/16″ with a 23 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on each end. Attach the long piece to the large and small base using your nail gun.

Cut the lower small piece to a finished length of approximately 13 3/4″ with a 39 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the bottom and approximately a 27.5 degree miter on the top.

Cut the upper small piece to a finished length of approximately 7 7/16″ with a 39 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the top and approximately a 27.5 degree miter on the bottom.

Attach the small pieces to the base and the long piece using your nail gun.

 

Step 10: Cut and attach the X’s to the end.

Cut the left long piece to a finished length approximately 16 1/4″ with a 18 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on each end. Attach the long piece to the large and small base using your nail gun.

Cut the lower small piece to a finished length of approximately 13 9/16″ with a 36 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the bottom and approximately a 35.5 degree miter on the top.

Cut the upper small piece to a finished length of approximately 6 3/4″ with a 36 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the top and approximately a 35.5 degree miter on the bottom.

Cut the right long piece to a finished length approximately 19 1/8″ with a 36 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on each end. Attach the long piece to the large and small base using your nail gun.

Cut the lower small piece to a finished length of approximately 11 1/4″ with a 18 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the bottom and approximately a 35.5 degree miter on the top.

Cut the upper small piece to a finished length of approximately 5 1/2″ with a 18 degree miter and 25 degree bevel on the top and approximately a 35.5 degree miter on the bottom.

Attach the small pieces to the base and the long piece using your nail gun.

Step 11: Sit back and marvel at what you just did because you have accomplished an amazing feat!

Honestly, I was so stressed out by this point that the table looked like this for a week (or so):

Step 12: Fill any nail holes or small gaps with wood fill.

Fill the pocket holes with the plugs from Kreg or simply fill them with wood fill. I used wood fill because I had run out of plugs.

IMPORTANT! Allow your wood fill to sit for approximately 24 hours. When researching staining wood fill (because I had never had to do this before) I came across numerous horror stories from people saying that their wood fill didn’t take the stain. This was really worrisome because I had used wood fill on the pocket holes. I decided to read the directions on the back of the container and it specifically states not to stain the wood fill for 24 hours. Not wanting all of my hard work to go to waste, I opted to try out the stain on a sample piece I had used wood fill on. Again, I waited 24 hours and guess what? It took the stain beautifully! To this day, you would be hard pressed to find the pocket holes.

Step 13: Stain the table.

After seeing my test piece do so well, I sanded the table down with a 120 grit sandpaper followed by a 320 grit sandpaper. This took a while because of all of the pieces but it is a very important part. Furring is known to be quite rough (which makes it perfect for this project) but I didn’t want the little ones getting scratched up. Which reminds me – should you come across any rogue nails, I have found that bending them back and forth with a wire cutter is a quick and easy way to make a clean snap.

Now let’s talk about stain. While most junior high girls were discovering boys, I was in the garage staining furniture. My mom has always loved refinishing furniture and taught me at a young age how to stain pieces. One thing I learned is to never use one color. One color stain makes it so, well, one dimensional. To give your furniture depth, mix different stains. My go-to in my home is a blend of red mahogany and ebony. For this project, though, I went one step further and added a touch of Tudor. In order, I stained the table red mahogany, ebony and then Tudor (Tudor is a color specific to Minwax).

While the table is drying, stain the trim pieces. I did this separately to ensure there wasn’t any pooling in the cracks where the trim and wood meet (which happens if you stain it all once). After it dries, I attached the trim pieces along the edge with Liquid Nail. Don’t do that. Attach them with your nail gun and don’t cover the holes (it gives it more detail).

Step 14: Make the table look old.

Since this table is supposed to look reclaimed, I took an 80 grit piece of sandpaper to the table to create worn spots. I don’t like overly distressed furniture so I went light on it. The great thing about making it yourself is you can do as little or as much as you like.

Step 15: Add the poly.

After all of the distressing was done it was time to add the polyurethane. Those who have seen my blog know that I am obsessed with Rustoleum poly. In fact, it is the only poly I will use. It consistently gives me a beautiful finish and doesn’t require sanding between coats. On this table, I used the satin and the results were wonderful.

Step 16: Enjoy your work of art!

After all of the hard work you put into the project, you deserve to sit back and just marvel at your creation. Until then, though, you can marvel at mine. 🙂

It’s been a month since I finished this table and I absolutely adore it. Everyone who comes over is shocked that I built this and comments on how beautifully it adds to the space. I am very proud of this piece and hope that all of you out there are able to take this project on yourselves. And when you do, send me pics! I’d love to see it!

I also love this version of the table featured on Casa Sugar a few years ago:

Project breakdown:

Time: 1 week. Most of that was because I needed a break while working on the X’s. With Amy’s amazing plans, you should be able to do it in 2 or 3 days.

Cost: My total cost varies depending on whether you ask me or my hubs. I say the cost was around $70. He says it was $170 because I bought a new drill mid-way through the process. Either way, compared to the $2000 Restoration Hardware was charging, I’d say I came out way ahead.

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————————–Update 11/16/15—————————–

Mark, one of our readers, sent us these pictures of the table he built!

“First time ever building anything, and I think it turned out pretty well. The plans were easy to follow, and surprisingly, the project was not nearly as hard as I had expected it to be. Thanks for the plans!”

If you’ve built anything following our plans or inspired by something we’ve posted, we’d love to see!

Submit a brag post here.

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