DIY Kitchen Console Table

Storage is limited in our small kitchen and there’s not much in the way of counter space. The upper cabinets hang so low that our coffee maker can’t even slide under them, so we’ve had it awkwardly sticking out in front of the microwave, one misplaced elbow away from plummeting to the floor.

It was neither pretty nor functional. I knew I had to figure out a way to get a little more storage, a little more counter space, or both.

I had a specific type of shelf/table combination in mind to fit in a little corner of the kitchen, but I wasn’t seeing anything like it in stores. Then I came across this DIY pallet table from Remodelaholic, which was exactly the shape and style I had been thinking of.

If they could do it, so could I! I decided to try my hand at creating my first-ever piece of furniture. I measured out the approximate dimensions I wanted for the table, and with Remodelaholic’s basic structure in mind, set out for Home Depot.

DIY Kitchen Console Table/Shelving Unit

I wanted my table to be roughly 24” wide by 10” deep by 42” high. I say roughly because I did a pretty sloppy job of measuring during this project. I eyeballed a lot of it, so the numbers here aren’t exact.

I also wanted two shelves at about 24” and 36” high.

I didn’t have a pallet to work with, so to keep it cheap I opted to use pine common boards. Pine is an inexpensive wood that’s great for small projects that won’t get a ton of wear and tear. It can be found in a variety of sizes (I’m sure you’ve heard of a two-by-four, for example) and cut to whatever length you want.

To create my table, I purchased the following boards:

• 1×2, 8 feet long (3) – these would serve as the legs and the supports for the bottom two shelves
• 1×4, 8 feet long (3) – these would serve as the table top, top support and shelves

Just a heads up if this is your first time shopping for wood—all of the different boards look pretty much the same when they’re all stacked up in their bays at the store, but a slight difference in the material can double or triple the price of the board (like if you grabbed, say, Douglas fir instead of pine). I made this mistake at first and when I got to the register, a single board rang up for $23! I had to go back and switch them all out, checking the labels carefully.

I had all my supplies, now it was time to get started. Eek!

The first thing I did was use a circular saw (I have this one, which is perfect for small projects) to cut my long pieces. I used 2″ deck screws that I had lying around and created the table’s front and back sides, placing supports where I wanted the shelves to be.

Next, I cut a whole bunch of 10” long pieces of 1×4 that would be screwed down to form the table top and shelves. I propped the two sides up next to each other and began screwing the 10” pieces into place.

I just went at it when I was screwing everything together, but if you want your table to be legit and sturdy I’d suggest using a level and square here. I didn’t, so mine has a bit of a wobble, but it was easily fixed by stapling a small piece of kitchen sponge to the bottom of the offending leg. Wobble gone!

It was starting to look like an actual table!

Once it was all put together, I took some medium grit sandpaper and sanded it down like crazy. The first day I did this I almost died in a coughing fit (#rookiemistake), so the second day I wore a super cool face mask I had purchased during an earlier remodeling project.

I wiped the table down with a damp cloth down to remove the dust, then applied two coats of Varathane wood stain in American Walnut. I waited 24 hours between coats. Who knew a little bit of stain could make a set of cheapie pine boards look so nice?

Finally, I finished it with two coats of Varathane matte polyurethane, also spaced 24 hours apart.

I absolutely love the way it turned out!

Is it the most precision-crafted piece of furniture ever? That would be a no. It’s the first thing I’ve ever built, so I’m just happy that it stands on its own! And it holds my coffee maker, toaster and other odds and ends, which makes my small kitchen so much more livable.

My total at Home Depot for the boards, the stain and the poly finish was less than $40.

I’m already thinking about my next project–which I will be sure to use a level on.

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