In December 2019, I made a grain plywood herringbone coffee table in the living room for the living room. I made it a very specific size so that it would fit the arrangement of the furniture that was in the room before, so it had to be tall and leather. It finished 52 ″ x 18.
If you missed that project, you can click here to read how I made the original DIY edge grain plywood herringbone coffee table
When I re-arranged the furniture, this tall and leather coffee table no longer worked inside. Although I spend a lot of time and effort on that at the top of the herringbone, and I love how it’s made, so there’s no way I’m going to give this piece away (which is usually what I do with things I do and don’t have anymore. used for). I decided to adapt it for the “new” hallway instead.
Our original hallway had three bedroom doors, as well as double bathroom doors. So I made a small console table to use in the small area to the left of the bathroom doors.
But that little console table won’t work in the “new” way with the new arrangement. Now that the passage is not deep (i.e., there is no space to the left of the bathroom door for a table or other) and one of the bedroom doors is missing, I need a more spacious table in that area. .
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So I decided that this herringbone top would make a perfect table for the hallway. And since I didn’t want to waste any of it, I got a scheme that used every last inch of height. I put the coffee table back on the table in this hallway console with the lower shelf.
The original end was 18 inches wide, so I used my table saw to cut the end into two pieces, with one piece 10.5 inches wide and another piece 7.5 inches wide.
Then I use my router to finish the edges in the same pieces.
Using a 2 ″ x 2 ″ board, I cut four pieces to 30.5 inches long for the legs. Then I used my Kreg pocket hole jig to drill pocket holes on both sides of each leg.
In all the holes drilled, I flipped the long piece over, and placed one leg in the right corner using wood glue and a Kreg clamp.
To clamp the foot, place the foot the height of the foot. (There are two holes. The clamp takes one hole, while I secure the screw in the other hole in the pocket. Then I put the clamp in the other hole, while securing the screw in the second pocket in the pocket.)
After repeating that process three times to make sure all four legs were high, I cut 2 ″ x 2 ″ pieces to go between the legs. On these pieces, I secured that in place with my nail gun and 16-gauge 2.5-inch nails. I nailed the pieces straight to the tall table.
Next, I cut a few pieces of 7.5 -inch foot drop equipment, and I poured pocket holes into each end of the pieces.
I measured and marked four inches from under the legs, and then used wood glue and a long clamp to secure the pieces while attaching the pieces to the pocket holes.
After securing the other short pieces on the other side, I turned the table to the right side, and then cut out the tall pieces of the bowl for the front and back of the lower shelf. I drilled two pocket holes at each end of the long stretcher pieces.
Using wood glue and clamps, I lined the long pieces to fall on the short parts (i.e., not on the legs) and tucked them in place.
I did this because the bottom shelf was cut to fit inside the legs. That’s why it’s only 7.5 inches wide while the high table is 10.5 inches wide.
And then I repeated that process for the back set piece.
And here’s what it’ll look like with all the interior pieces in place.
Afterwards I checked to make sure the bottom shelf would fit inside the legs as needed.
When I was sure it was the right fit, I turned the table to its side and nailed the shelf to the bottom area using the same 16-gauge 2.5-inch nails I used to ensure height.
The final part of the construction is to fill the pocket to the point shown (i.e., the eight holes used to secure the legs to the high table). To fill those holes, I used these Kreg’s pocket hole plugs. It is cut to fit the holes perfectly. I just added a little wood glue to each one, pushed it into the hole in the pocket, and then covered the ends with the wood filler.
Once the plugs are installed and painted, you will never see those holes. In fact, after being filled and wood -filled, they are hard to see, as you can see here on the back leg in this photo.
Afterwards I did a lot of tree trimming, sanding, and finishing. I used 150-grit sandpaper to sand everything by hand, pointing at the edges of the legs and speeds. I have always loved the sand on the new boards. I’m not sure if it’s shown in these photos (the edges of the right leg are already fixed, but the edges of the left leg aren’t fixed yet), but for me, it’s one of those finishing tasks that a big difference in the finished product. There’s just something about really brutal edges that isn’t as finished for me.
And finally, I glued the shelves with paint stains, and gave the beds and legs two coats of black paint (Behr Pure Black), laying 220-grit paper between the coat.
Before painting the second coat, I also added some Floetrol to the paint to make it the most dryness possible.
I still have to paint the edges of the walls in the hallway (that’s the project now), but here’s the table in its new residence.
It’s a perfect fit, and I’m so glad I didn’t have to lose even an inch of the tall table I spent so much time creating in 2019.