DIY Restoration Hardware Knockoff Coffee Table

This post could also be titled: The weekend that it never stopped raining.

Y'all, it's been relentless. We had almost 3 feet of rain over the course of 4 days. And it's still going.

Though our backyard did flood some, we were extremely lucky that we were spared for what most of the Low Country experienced. It's heartbreaking to see the photos of downtown Charleston.

Most of the roads and bridges around us were shut down and curfews were ordered, so we have basically been cooped up in our home since Thursday. Needless to say we were feeling really stir crazy but are SO incredibly thankful that our little family, our home, and ours friends are all safe.

And if there is a silver lining, its that we got a full weekend of cuddling, football watching, and wine drinking under cozy blankets.

Since I'm pretty sure y'all don't want to see photos of us in our pajamas all weekend, I thought I'd share our DIY coffee table!

Its finally done. Hallelujah! (Although in these photos we hadn't applied the clear coat yet... sorry, had to work with whatever light I could get for some photos!)

We have been working on this table for months. Yes, you heard me. MONTHS.

And no, it should not take that long.

But when you're husband is working on it during nap times and you change the dimensions on him after its mostly built (sorry babe!), it turns into a multi-weekend event.

I love the Restoration Hardware Balustrade coffee table, but at a $1,700 price point, that was absolutely out of the question.

I'm not going to do a full DIY post because everything is laid out perfectly by Jen from the House of Wood. But I want to share some of the changes we made to make it work with our space!

Size

The original plans for this coffee table are huge. I mean this thing would have taken up our entire living room and it just wasn't practical for us. So we cut down and removed some boards and I'm so happy we did. Our table comes in at 44" W x 27.5" D.

Stain

I wanted a lighter colored stain that had just a slight hint of grey in it, so after testing quite a few combinations I decided on a coat of Minwax Special Walnut then layered a coat of Minwax Classic Grey over top. I wiped the grey off immediately because it can look blue if its on there too long.

For whatever reason, some parts of our boards did not stain evenly. The ends are always darker but it does drive me a little bit crazy the way it stained (and don't get me started on how the wall color clashes with the couch color). Not much we can do though since we were trying to keep this cheap and bought lower grade wood.

Cost

The most expensive part of this project is purchasing the pillars. Those run a minimum of $112 for 4, depending on the wood you choose.

And as a result of my last minute changes in size to the already-built coffee table (insert my husband's eye roll here), we had to buy a few extra boards.

Total cost: just under $200. 

$200 versus $1,700? Yeah, I'll take ours any day.

Major props to my husband for building this gorgeous piece for us. I'm super impressed with his woodworking skills, and I think he even surprised himself considering this is only his second piece of furniture he has built.

I only get credit for staining, motivational speeches, and the serving of beer during the building process.

We haven't owned a coffee table since college (first world problems, I know), so I'm excited to style it and put some Fall touches on it! I hope you all had a fun and dry first weekend of October!