Modern Industrial DIY End Tables

Today is a big day! I finally get to share the project I’ve been working hard on for the last two months! A lot of effort went into this furniture build so I hope you appreciate the final product. I dreamed of building modern industrial DIY end tables for months! Because I wanted to use metal for the legs, my lack of welding knowledge held me back. With the help of my sister, Anne (who is so talented), we accomplished building with metal and wood!

The Plans

One night I scribbled plans for a very simplistic shaped end table I hoped I could build. The legs would be rectangles form of flat metal and the boxes would be constructed from wood. The interior of each wood box I would paint teal to match my coffee table and add a pop of interest to the modern style.

The Materials

Some of the materials I was given for free from the wonderful companies who support my blog. See below the breakdown of materials and costs:

• 20 Feet of 3″ width, 1/4″ thick hot rolled flat bar steel (I ordered it from a metal yard and paid a little extra for them to cut it in four 5 foot long sections so it would fit in my car): $33.54
• 8′ by 4′ sheet of birch 1/2″ thick plywood (I used about half the sheet): $39.95
• Varathane brand quart of stain + poly in the color “Kona”: FREE
• Heirloom Traditions All-In-One chalk paint in the color “Amalfi”: FREE
• DecoArt Multi-Surface paint in “Black Tie”: FREE
• DecoArt Paint Adhesion medium for slick surfaces: FREE
• 3M Stainable Wood Filler: $4.39
• Loctite PL 375 Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive: FREE (leftover from this blanket ladder project)
• Sandpaper (both 60 grit and 220 grit): $1.20
• Tack Cloth: $0.97
• Backing (I used some I pulled off an old dresser my friend Kelli gave me): FREE

As you can see, I didn’t have to pay for any of the stain, paint, or finish applied on this piece of furniture. If I had to buy these products, I would have blown my $100 budget. Thankfully in the end, the cost for my modern industrial DIY end tables came to only $80.05 for the pair! That might seem like a lot, but metal isn’t cheap and I really wanted these tables to be something special I could keep for a looonnggg time. Plus I still have half the plywood left to make a coffee table! 🙂

I was particularly impressed with the DecoArt multi-surface paint that can adhere to metal, glass, ceramic, even fabric! The stain finish was gorgeous and it covered really well making my steel legs look professional.

Modern Industrial DIY End Tables

Okay, now to the video tutorial. I tried to show you as many steps as possible, but some of the metal work is missing. My sister Anne’s husband cut the metal for us with a metal band saw he uses for his job building theater sets. We also did a significant amount touch-up after welding using an angle grinder that is not shown. However, I did get clips of my sister being a badass welding the joints! Enjoy…

After these cheap plastic stands, then modified bar stools, then assemble-yourself MDF tables, my living room finally has the perfect end tables! I could not be more pleased!

Of course, next I want to build a similar coffee table. We’ll see when that gets done…

The front profile of the end tables is so sleek and modern. Go ahead and pin this image to Pinterest!

What do you think of my modern industrial DIY end tables? Leave me a comment below!
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