How to Make Display Coffee Tables

Make a display coffee table to showcase collectibles, photos or other memorabilia and an additional design element in your living room. You can make display coffee tables from old windows as part of a shabby chic, country or eclectic dcor. You can also make shadow box style display coffee tables from old wooden coffee tables you can find at your local thrift store. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Old Window Display Table

1

Find an old window at your local architectural salvage yard or flea market. Measure the length and the width.

2

Purchase a wood panel to match the dimensions of your window. You will also need two strips of wood matching the length of your window and two strips matching its width. The wood strips will become the depth of your display coffee table and should be at least 2 inches wide or wider, depending on what you wish to display. You can find decorative legs for your coffee table along with all of the other building materials for this project at your local home improvement store.

3

Sand the raw wood smooth and finish all the pieces with either a stain/polyurethane combination or prime and paint. Refinish your window to match your table base or leave it as is.

4

Attach the wood trim around the perimeter of the wood panel with wood glue and screws. Insert the table legs on the underside of the wood panel with the attached screws or with wood glue and screws.

5

Screw the two hinges to one of the longest sides of the window casing, about 8 inches apart. Screw the hinges to one of the longest wood strips on the table. Your display coffee table opens on the hinged side, so you can easily add or remove any items.

Used Coffee Table Display

6

Find a used coffee table and a large framed picture at a local thrift store. The picture within the frame is irrelevant as you only need the glass and the frame. This is often less expensive than having glass cut and making a frame from wood or buying framing sections. It's also a more eco-friendly way to decorate. The frame and glass should be as large as the table.

7

Purchase wood trim with a width equal to the desired depth of the display part of your coffee table. Paint or stain the table and the wood trim to match. Refinish your picture frame, if needed, to match your table.

8

Glue and screw the wood trim to the perimeter of the table. Screw the hinges to the picture frame and then to the trim on the table.