Upcycle Your Decor With These DIY Coffee Tables

Whether you live in the city or country, a tree stump coffee table is one of the most charming additions you can make to your living room. Choose a single stump with a beautiful ring display, or opt for three stumps of varying sizes assembled in any formation. You can find genuine wooden stumps from local lumber yards, furniture manufacturers, or online.

An old portable chicken crate made from wood, bamboo, or wicker makes a great DIY coffee table. For one thing, you can easily create a theme around it. Imagine an underwater display: fill the crate with shells, rope, and a plastic crab or two. Make the top plexiglass for an aquarium-like feel. Or simply use it to hold extra blankets and throws. Any furniture that doubles as storage is an instant win.

Cable spools are just perfect for this type of upcycling. They already look like a table, and with a little imagination, you can add your own unique touches. Display the spool as is, complete with that one cracked slat, for a rustic farmhouse vibe, or stain or paint it to match your decor. You can also keep the base and replace the top, or remove the bottom disc for a simple table with a center pillar. Finding cable spools is relatively simple. Check online marketplaces or ask at the hardware store.

This project is a cool one, because you can make it from scratch and add your own extras. For example, use crushed glass to give it that speckled look. You can even dye the concrete in a subtle shade to complement your decor. Polishing it to get that beautiful shine will take a few passes with an 800 grit or higher finishing pad, but once you’re done, it will be a masterpiece.

If you like infinity pools, you’ll love your homemade infinity coffee table. During the day it looks like any old piece. But when you flip the switch, it’s like you’re staring into forever. The trick is the use of a regular mirror at the bottom, tape LED lights in the middle, and affix a two-way mirror at the top. With some minor wiring, you can mesmerize friends and family with this hypnotic creation.

Whether you're a connoisseur of red or white, wooden wine crates make a great, practical DIY coffee table. You’ll need four of them, which you can get at your local craft store. If you put them on their sides so the openings face out, you have plenty of storage for books or other items. Paint them or leave them as is — either way, it's sure to be a hit the next time you have friends by for vino.

If you love that natural outdoorsy style but would rather avoid the sticker shock that tends to come with the designer options, create your own birch-log coffee table. For this DIY, you’ll need enough birch logs to surround a plywood box. Then, decorate the top with one-inch birch rounds. This is a cool hack that will save time and money without losing the charm.

If you've come into an old casement window from an estate sale or your last vintage hunt, it can be transformed into a coffee table. Cut 2x4s to fit the window exactly, then add some hinges and a simple handle to the pane to make retrieving your collectibles a breeze. The next time you go to a garage sale and see an old window for sale, grab it and tackle this stylish creation.

If you live near a distillery or winery, you could get your hands on a whiskey or wine barrel for a song. In some cases, you may be able to get a pre-cut half-barrel, making your project a little easier. The beauty of these barrels is that many have that weathered look that you can easily accentuate.

If you have an existing coffee table that just needs some sprucing up, consider something really unique like bottle caps or wine corks. If you’re a beer lover or have friends who are willing to collect their caps for you, you can arrange them in a meaningful configuration — like the family initials — or just create an eye-catching mosaic. Mod podge or glue can hold the pieces in place, and then you can either lay glass on top, or get facny with resin for a sturdy, lasting finish.