Do you have a small space with a big couch and no room for end tables? Or do you simply want a cool way to display things behind your couch? Then this project is for you.

One of our make-up artists on the show was saying that she wanted a place to set drinks down while sitting on the couch, but she had no space for side tables. Her place isn’t huge so we had to come up with a way to simply add a bit of shelf space in a little amount of room. Enter…the back-of-couch table!

This is a greeeeaaaaatttt way to add storage to any room, and is a very cool design element as well. The best part about it that it only adds a little over 7” to your room. This allows a place to set your drinks, or use as a display holder behind a couch to jazz up your surroundings.

Here are a few notes before we get started. First of all, because we made a very small (skinny) table to go along the back side of the couch, we couldn’t use regular table legs because those would be too large.  We used staircase spindles instead. These can be found at any hardware store. Before you get too worried about your carpentry skills, just know that you can be as messy as you want to be under the table…it will be hidden by the couch and no one will be the wiser! You can use any wood that you like. I used pine because it’s cheap, easy to work with and is great if you are going to paint over it anyway. If you want a more expensive looking table, you might want to consider using a higher grade of wood to stain it to your desired color.

You Will Need

• One pine 8’ 1”x8” plank of wood (if your couch is smaller than 8 feet, you can get a smaller plank of wood)
• 4 staircase spindles
• 1 2”x4”
• Nail gun with 2” nails (or screw gun with 2” screws)
• Wood glue
• Pencil

How To

1. Measure the length and height of the back of your couch.
2. You can either cut the spindles, the 2×4 and the 1×8 yourself, or take it to your local hardware store and they will cut it for you. You want the 1×8 the same length as your couch, the 2×4 should be 4” smaller than your 1×8, and the height should be anywhere from exactly flush to 1” to 4” below your couch height. (So have your spindles cut accordingly.) Remember to take into account the height of your plank of wood as well.
3. Place your 1×8 on a flat surface, top side down.
4. Measure 1 7/8” all the way around to serve as a guide for your 2×4. Mark it off with a pencil.
5. Use wood glue along the entire underside of your 2×4.
6. Set 2×4 on the 1×8, using your pencil marks as a guideline to stay straight and even all the way around.
7. Nail the board into place. Since we used a 2×4 (actually measures 1.5” thick) and a 1×8 (actually ¾” thick), we used 2” nails so that the table is secure, without going over our total width. If you are using a screw gun with screws, I would suggest pre-drilling your holes for your 2” screws. For projects like this, I would use drywall screws because of their flat head that will lay flat against the wood…but this is merely a personal preference!
8. Take your cut spindles place glue one side and the top of the spindle.
9. Set into place with the glue sides on the bottom (against your plank) and against the 2×4.
10. Nail your 2×4 into place.
11. Let the glue dry. If the nail holes really buy you, use this time to add wood putty over your nail holes. In my opinion, you can skip this step since the nail holes will not be visible (one side is against the couch and the other side is against the wall).
12. Now it’s up to you! You can paint it, stain it, or leave it au-naturale!

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Missed the episode? Head on over to Home & Family and check it out!

XOXO,

Paige