DIY live edge coffee table & mid-century modern living room

 DIY live edge coffee table & mid-century modern living room

Fellow creatives: ever get the itch to do a project and JUST HAVE TO DO IT?! Please tell me you agree. 

We never put an incredible amount of effort into our living room. Which was actually really interesting as we have such an open floor plan. Last spring we renovated our entire kitchen, bought new furniture for the dining room and entry, but literally left the living room as is. 

I guess there was really nothing wrong with it. It was simple & comfortable. It just wasn't- really anything. We had an existing couch from Bob's furniture (now discontinued) and a chaise lounge from Wayfair that Leo had claimed and had done a number on. Our coffee table was a $50 thrift store find that I had distressed- and that was about it.

Suddenly though, and maybe its my preggo brain talking, but the room didn't feel cozy. It just felt "open" to the rest of the house but not cohesive. Insert anthropology bold color vibes here. With the recent uptick of bold furniture and rich fabrics, my vision evolved and my creative mind began spinning. 

We purchased the new version of our sofa, the Marley loveseat in Navy or Indigo as it is also called. I also snagged this 5x7 boho yet vintage carpet from Rugs USA at a mere $60. 

But of course, from there things snowballed. 

Although our existing coffee table was still really nice and treated us well, it didn't really fit the space. I had layered my new 5x7 rug over an 8x10 woven accent carpet from Target and it really drew attention to the center of the room. 

We have a love for wood pieces. We have a few live edge and custom items in our home already (made by a good friend) but nothing quite like them in our living room. On one of my (apparently) many sleepless prego nights- I began searching for coffee tables. Was it marble top I wanted- maybe? But, I don't like imitation and the real "stuff" just was pricey and meh. THEN it hit me: what about a live edge table?! We have always wanted to make one ourselves and it would really tie our spaces together! Thanks to Facebook Marketplace, I stumbled across a local seller of live edge slabs. 

I knew Bobby would be on board. So, I immediately ordered these black hairpin coffee table legs. A few days later, we headed to the thrift shop where my new found friend Ed from Facebook sold his timber. 

He had so many beautiful pieces- but this slab of sugar maple caught our eye. The grain, color, edging, shape, etc. was EVERYTHING- and we took her home. 

Ed had already put a coat or two of poly on the slab but suggested we add at least two more. We picked up clear Minwax poly in a matte finish. 

After allowing both coats to dry, we flipped the table over and attached the hairpin legs 8" in on all sides. The wood was SO THICK so it was tricky getting the screws to fasten securely, but they did! 

Once screwed in, that was it! We brought our table inside and it IMMEDIATELY lit up the room. We couldn't be happier with our inexpensive DIY coffee table. The quality of this piece is far better then one off of Wayfair or Target that we could afford (not knocking them- just saying). With the legs being $20 and the slab $200, we have a beautiful piece that we can say WE MADE! Keep in mind, if you can't find a slab you love- this technique can be done with literally ANY piece of wood!