DIY Coffee Table Using a Salvaged Shutter

This DIY coffee table is one of my favorite pieces we’ve made!

I know, I say that about all the things we make, but really this one is at the top of the list. In our other house, we didn’t really have room for a uni-tasking coffee table and needed to use a trunk that doubled as a coffee table that had tons of storage inside (<- that’s an affiliate link) for Lilly’s toys. In this house, we can actually have a dedicated coffee table in front of the sofa, because all the kids toys are tucked away “neatly” in baskets in cubbies. Well, 80% of the time.

We decided to make this DIY coffee table using a salvaged shutter we got from a local shop called Carson’s in the Cornfield – If you’re near Lancaster PA, you’ve got to make a visit! They’ve got reproductions, antiques, but also some really good pickin’ junk, doors, shutters, hardware, barn wood, and all kinds of stuff I babble about in a lot of my posts.

Andrew had the idea to invest in some custom made hairpin legs I found locally on Etsy, instead of regular furniture legs. We stripped the hardware off the shutter (we repurposed the latches to be anchors for our window blind cords), and gently sanded off the very few bits of paint that were chipping off, cleaned it up, and gave it a nice satin clear coat, leaving the holes and imperfections as is.

Then we attached the legs with some screws, and put this table straight into regular use!

These legs look so awesome, don’t they? Keeping the piece super light and airy, with a little bit of contrast was important to us, because mixing texture, masculine and feminine touches, hard and soft. All that jazz. These legs offset the rustic farm vibe of the shutter, with some industrial goodness. Mmmmm… my favorite combo!