Merry Christmas! This post is a little late, but I wanted to get it in before the new year.
Our new sofa actually arrived the first week of November, far ahead of the December arrival date they originally estimated. But once we got the sofa in, we realized how empty the living room really looked. The old sofa didn't allow for end tables, a coffee table, or any type of media console. So the room looked big and empty.
We decided to do the media console first since we needed to move the furniture around and the TV was no longer going up on the wall. We found plans on Rogue Engineer for a corner media center. Only I don't have any corners that it would work on. Thankfully The Builder was able to modify the plans to meet our needs, including extending the length.
I originally wanted to build it all in walnut. We've got a fabulous local lumber yard where I can get just about anything I can dream of, including exotic woods. But solid walnut would have run us well over $600, which wasn't in the budget. Ultimately we did the frame out of pine, but the top from walnut veneer and used a 2x10 piece of walnut for the trim. The veneer and one walnut board still cost around $100. The remaining pine was about $135. I still feel that for a solid piece of furniture, the price is excellent. I need to get a better picture of the cross braces, which turned out beautiful. The Builder mitered the cross section together and it turned out perfect.
One thing we learned after I did the desk for my sons' room is that wood conditioner is really a necessity when you plan to stain. It comes out much more smooth and even, with no weird blotchy patches (even when you're being super careful!). The grain on this walnut is absolutely stunning and the photo doesn't do it justice.
So the media center being completed at least allowed us to the furniture around and set up the room. But it still left a dance floor in the middle of the room (my kids made sure to prove this point, lol). Also, with the linen colored sofa, I didn't want anyone eating or drinking on the sofa. We really needed a place to set food down and eat at while we're watching football TV. It was a given that this would be another build for The Builder. We had recently priced coffee tables made from MDF and not only were we disappointed in the materials, but the MDF didn't seem to have any cost saving purposes. And again, we plan to load our coffee table with snacks to watch football TV and MDF is not family friendly. We'd just finished the media console when Shanty 2 Chic came out with a YouTube video for a new coffee table. Ironically, they scaled it down to be a smaller coffee table, but we needed something longer. So again, The Builder took the plans from their website and customized them to our needs. They call this the DIY 8 Board Farmhouse Coffee Table but we ended up using about 10 since we made it longer and ultimately a little wider. But again, I LOVE this coffee table. It's solid and really compliments the media console.
This is also made from pine as the budget didn't allow for more walnut, but surprisingly, they coordinate together beautifully. For now, I don't have any plans to add baskets or storage on the shelf. I don't like a lot of clutter and my kids will pile baskets sky high with junk. I love the clean lines, so this is how I plan to keep it. Altogether, we spent about $70 on the lumber. Another great investment for a solid piece of furniture.
So let's talk about the elephant in the room. The wonky end tables on either side of the sofa. The one on the right was built to match the high arms on the old sofa. This is after The Builder cut it down. The table on the left is a LACK table from Ikea that we were sort of using as a coffee table over the summer. I say kind of because it was a pain to walk around, didn't match the room, and held next to nothing. I bought the lamps last year when Home Goods opened near me. They match our new living room PERFECTLY as if I had bought them to go with this furniture. So we've tucked the LACK table between the armchair and sofa temporarily so the lamps can be used for task lighting.
Ultimately, we have one more build for this room, and that's the end tables. We plan to go with the Lybrook Side Tables from Rogue Engineer to coordinate with the media console and coffee table. These side tables have the same X braces that I like for the rustic charm. We've got enough of the walnut veneer left to do both tops from so they'll really coordinate with the other pieces. I don't want large side tables because I know my kids will pile stuff on them. I like that each table should cost about $20.
If you've been adding up the numbers along the way, we're roughly at $345 for ALL four pieces. My favorite inspiration store, Pottery Barn, has some similarly styled pieces (although this time, the inspiration started with the plans for the media console and I only took a peek at Pottery Barn's website to see what overpriced items they might compare to!).
So this is not a duplicate. There are no cross braces. There isn't a bottom shelf. But it's reclaimed pine and solid wood. On sale, it can be yours - for $824. Seriously. And this isn't something I would actually buy. It's almost too plain and I don't like that it's missing the shelf. I'm not sure if they make coordinating end tables to go with this but the price of this alone is outside of my budget. They actually have some others that I like better, but the cost is even higher.
So I feel very fortunate that The Builder was able to build something I that I really love.
I'm not sure when we'll get the side tables started, but they're on the top of the list for our spring projects. Our spring list of things to do is quickly getting long. Our oldest son is graduating in June and we have family coming out again. This go around we don't have any major projects, like master bathroom's or kitchens, but we do have some cosmetic things to get done. And these end tables!
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