A solid wood dining table from a furniture store can easily run past $1,000, and these 18 DIY dining room tables show how to get the same look for a fraction of that. A DIY dining table is usually one of two projects: building a new top and base from lumber, pallets or pipe, or refinishing a secondhand table with paint, stain and a fresh seal. Farmhouse styles lead the list, with pocket screw builds that a beginner with a drill can handle in a weekend, plus a few showstoppers like a pecan slab milled from a fallen tree and a poured concrete top. Others started as thrift store or hand-me-down tables that just needed sanding and chalk paint. A handy rule before buying lumber: a “2×8” board actually measures about 7 1/4 inches wide, so plan the tabletop width around the real numbers, not the label.
1. DIY Built In Breakfast Bar Dining Table
This built in breakfast bar dining table started with knocking a closet wall down to table height and using the half wall as the base. The top is pieced together from old barn boards salvaged from outbuildings, cut to the same length, then glued and screwed. Because the room steps down on one side, it sits at chair height on one side and bar height on the other, with stools and benches to match. Knot holes were packed with wood filler, redrawn with a Sharpie to look like knots, then sealed under about seven coats of polyurethane.
Get the full tutorial at Kammy's Korner.
2. DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Table
This DIY farmhouse kitchen table came together in one Friday night for under $100. The build uses four ready made 29 inch table legs, two 2x4s and two 1x2s for the frame, and seven 2×6 boards cut to 72 inches for the top, joined with 2 1/2 inch pocket hole screws, wood glue and finish nails. Most home improvement stores will cut the lumber for free, which saves a lot of sawing. The top gets dark walnut stain and the legs get satin white paint, a two tone look that hides crumbs and dings well.
Get the full tutorial at The Inspiration Board.
3. Easy DIY Octagon Table
This easy DIY octagon table began as a secondhand claw foot table with a laminate top, and the real lesson is how to paint laminate so it lasts. Wipe the whole top down with Krud Kutter to cut the gloss, sand with medium grit to remove the printed wood veneer, then sand again with fine grit and wipe away the dust. Roll on two coats of primer and three coats of paint, letting each dry fully. The old claw feet were swapped for hairpin legs, and the finish held up for months of daily use.
Get the full tutorial at Classy Clutter.
4. Antique Dining Table Updated With Chalk Paint
This antique dining table update proves you don’t have to strip every inch of an old piece. The tabletop was stripped and lightly sanded to reveal the wood underneath, then protected with about 10 coats of polyurethane and no stain at all. Instead of sanding the turned legs and chairs, they got a creamy white homemade chalk paint, some distressing and a clear furniture wax applied with a rag. Clear wax is a smart pick over white paint because it won’t yellow the way some polyurethanes do. Painting the base also makes the turned details stand out.
Get the full tutorial at anderson + grant.
5. Conduit Pipe Table DIY
This conduit pipe table pairs an industrial pipe base with a glass top. Use rigid steel electrical conduit, not the thin kind that can’t be threaded, and have the store cut and thread the four long 50 inch pieces while the short ones come precut. The base takes floor flanges, elbows, T joints, bushings and pipe joint compound to help the threads tighten. Every closed rectangle needs one pipe screwed deep into its fitting first so it can back out into the other end. A used 3 by 5 foot glass top saved about $1,000 over a new one.
Get the full tutorial at Vintage Revivals.
6. Pecan Farmhouse Dining Table
This pecan farmhouse dining table has a top milled from a fallen pecan tree, joined with a Kreg jig so no screws show. The top was belt sanded with 80 grit and finished with 150, then sealed with four coats of Waterlox, a tung oil finish, letting each coat dry 24 hours. Sanding with 400 grit before the last coat leaves it smooth as glass. The X legs are pine painted in chalk paint and given an easy aging treatment before sealing. One warning: raw wood left outdoors overnight soaks up humidity and can pull seams apart.
Get the full tutorial at Wildfire Interiors.
7. X Brace Farmhouse Table
This X brace farmhouse table comes with free building plans and a design sized to work in a dining room or a breakfast nook. Chunky X legs on each end give it the classic farmhouse shape, while a metal pipe stretcher running between them adds strength and a little industrial edge. It is a solid wood build that holds up to kids and daily meals, and the pipe beam keeps the base from racking. Seal it well, since an extra coat of sealant is what turns a pretty table into one that survives spilled juice.
Get the full tutorial at The Crafty Blog Stalker.
8. West Elm Inspired Dining Table
This West Elm inspired dining table copies a $1,199 wooden truss design for about $75 in lumber, using free plans from a furniture plan site. Pick the straightest boards you can find, since they make every step easier. Two tweaks are worth copying: swap the 2×4 braces under the top for 2x6s so they sit flush, and cut the top boards to fit the room, here 67 3/4 inches for a table about 74 3/4 inches long. Glue between every board and use plenty of long clamps, then flatten the top with a belt sander.
Get the full tutorial at Mountain Modern Life.
9. DIY Dining Room Table With Hairpin Legs
This DIY dining room table with hairpin legs seats eight and cost about $350 in supplies. The top is four long pine planks, with nine smaller boards bracing and framing the underside, a few of them oak for extra strength since oak is harder than pine. Plan on roughly 90 screws. It is assembled upside down, then flipped, sanded and stained. Four 28 inch three prong hairpin legs keep it modern and light. Before choosing a stain, look at the floors and other wood in the room so the table complements them instead of clashing.
Get the full tutorial at A Beautiful Mess.
10. Farmhouse Table Remix From Two Old Tables
This farmhouse table remix skips building legs entirely. Two identical secondhand 5 foot tables, bought for $20 each, sit end to end as a 10 foot base. A sub-frame of thin boards laid across the old tops extends past the edges so the new top can grow to about 4 feet wide. The top is knotty, distressed 1×8 pine at about $13 a board, which hides dings from kids. Measure the actual board width before cutting the frame: a board sold as 8 inches wide is really 7 1/4 inches.
Get the full tutorial at East Coast Creative.
11. Knock Out A Farm Table For $50
This farm table knockoff copies a pricey modern farmhouse table for about $50 in pine. The lumber list is short: two 2x2s, four 1x8s and two 1x3s at 8 feet, plus a 10 foot 1×4 and two 10 foot 1x6s. Add finish nails, roughly 100 two inch wood screws, about 20 longer screws, wood glue, filler, sandpaper and your choice of finish. The page links out to the full tool list and directions. Pine at these prices takes stain unevenly, so a pre-stain conditioner is worth the extra few dollars.
Get the full tutorial at Curbly.
12. Vintage Style Dining Room Table
This vintage style dining room table cost about $200 to build with everything included. The top is premium Douglas fir 2x8s, the frame is pine 2x4s, and the legs are four pre-made deck awning posts cut down to table height. Drill the frame with angled pocket holes so the screws sink out of sight. Round over the corners of the top for a softer vintage shape, then stain it a deep rich color. Sanding the edges again after staining and finishing with wax gives it that worn look, while country white legs add contrast.
Get the full tutorial at RemoveandReplace.com.
13. Wood Pallet Table DIY
This wood pallet table DIY is a small kitchen table with a patchwork top of reclaimed pallet slats. Start with a piece of plywood cut to the table size, then pull the slats off an old pallet, or two for a bigger table. Lay them out like a puzzle, mix the colors and textures, mark where they hang over the edge and saw off the excess. Liquid Nails and about 12 screws hold everything down. Sand with a block to knock off splinters, then add hairpin legs for a modern contrast.
Get the full tutorial at A Beautiful Mess.
14. DIY Concrete Dining Table
This DIY concrete dining table copies a $2,500 designer piece with a cast top about 84 by 40 by 1 1/2 inches. Build a mold from plywood lined with melamine, with 2 1/4 inch melamine strips for the sides, and press every corner down flat, since a lifted corner shows in the finished slab. Lay in wire mesh plus rebar along the edges, seal the seams with 100 percent silicone caulk, then mix about five bags of high strength concrete with tint. Buy an extra bag, and wear heavy gloves for hand mixing.
Get the full tutorial at Uncookie Cutter.
15. DIY Modified Modern Farmhouse Table
This DIY modified modern farmhouse table is a fine furniture take on the classic plans, built by a detail minded woodworker who refuses shortcuts. The tabletop boards are laid out to see which way the grain flows best, run through a planer for a seamless fit, then joined with wood glue and biscuits and clamped tight. The legs are smoothed with a belt sander and attached with pocket screws. A wood conditioner before staining prevents blotchiness, then Minwax Dark Walnut, two coats of poly on the legs and three on the top.
Get the full tutorial at Nuestra Vida Dulce.
16. Farm Table Tutorial
This farm table tutorial builds a cottage style table with nothing more than an electric drill. The top is three 1×12 pine boards, 6 feet long, framed by a 1×3 apron and set on four pre-turned 29 inch legs, all held with self-drilling 1 3/4 inch wood screws. Slip two or three nails between the top boards as spacers for an even, cottage style gap, and leave about a 3 inch overhang all around. Fill the screw holes, sand smooth, then stain the top and paint the base.
Get the full tutorial at Miss Mustard Seed.
17. Farmhouse Table Built for $45 in Lumber
This farmhouse table cost $45 in lumber plus about $20 to $25 in stain and polyurethane. It follows a popular free farmhouse table plan with one change, breadboard ends instead of all lengthwise boards. Expect about 4 to 5 hours of building, an hour of sanding, 30 to 45 minutes of staining and an hour for three coats of poly. Stud grade whitewood gives a rustic look where flaws are welcome. Wipe off excess stain: leaving extra on for a darker color makes the table tacky, and a second wiped coat fixes it.
Get the full tutorial at Decor and the Dog.
18. Shipping Pallet Dining Table
This shipping pallet dining table is built entirely from carefully disassembled pallets, mostly oak, bought from a local pallet dealer for $32 for eight. The design keeps some of the pallet’s original structure in the bracing and legs while giving the table a streamlined silhouette, so it reads as furniture rather than a crate. Instead of polyurethane, it is finished with a mix of coconut oil and beeswax, a food safe option that brings out the grain. Take pallets apart slowly to keep the boards whole and usable.
Get the full tutorial at little paths.
