Rustic Country Chic Bedside Table

It's hard to put into words just how much I enjoy designing and building simple pieces of furniture. I often keep scraps from other, larger projects and find myself staring longingly at the scrap pile trying to decide what gem can be emerge from it all.

A friend of mine told me that her sister had been "bugging" her about getting a bedside table in her guest room for when she visits. The story wasn't to see if I would build the table for her, but it did get me thinking about a simple, sturdy, but adorable bedside table using the scraps in my garage. As usual, my mind revved up and my hands went to Pinterest for ideas.

Interested in building this table for yourself? Well, keep reading...

Cut List: 

4- 2"x 6"x 25"

4- 2" x 6" x 12.5"

5- 1" x 3" x 16.5"

Other Materials:

2 1/2" Coarse Thread Kreg Jig Screws

Nails

Wood Glue

After cutting all the pieces, you'll need to join two 25" boards to each other using pocket holes on the Kreg jig and glue. Be sure you have the Kreg Jig settings correct for the 2x6 boards so as to maximize the strength and support between the two boards. Join the second set of 25" boards to each other as you did the first set. **The pocket holes will be on the inside of the table and I set them to the back half of the table.

You'll need to decide at this point what distance you want the first shelf from the top. I chose 10" in this table, but I probably would have done 8" if I had to do it over again. Measure and mark on the INSIDE of the sides of the table. I drilled pocket holes on the underside of the shelf pieces (the 12.5" boards), set the boards on my mark, put glue on the joint, clamped it and screwed the joint together. At this point, your table should like an H. I always check to make sure that my corners are at 90 degrees.

Drill pocket holes on the underside of the other two boards and join them to the bottom of the table with glue and screws. Again, check your corners to ensure they are 90 degrees.

The top of the table uses the 1" x 3" boards, placed side by side, with equal overhang on each side and there will be some overlap on the front and back. This is normal. Side overhang should be about 1/2" on each side. Overhang on the front should be a little more than the back. Glue them down and then put a nail in to secure them.

I used a nice blueish gray stain that I found on the unwanted rack at Lowes. It was leftover from my dining room table project (also on the blog). I painted such that it got a nice 1st coat, but some of the wood grain still shows through. It's  not perfect and that's the look I was going for. It's rustic and weathered and has a country feel to it. It was a quick 1 hour (minus painting) project and super cheap to do.

Happy Building!

If you'd like to purchase this, see me on Instagram @she.builds.nc