Once upon a time, I looked around my living space and thought about how happy I was with my decor. The colours complemented each other, the furniture was stylish, and the accessories were perfectly placed. Then my eyes passed across my coffee table and I realized, with shock and awe, that the poor, scratched up condition of the tabletop was a complete eyesore in the room! Instead of dwelling on that or ignoring it, however, I took it as a DIY opportunity and turned it into a sealed decoupage collage of old black and white pictures of Paris. My idea isn’t the only one you can use to transform your rough, battered tabletops into something more stylish and visually appealing!
Check out these creative DIY tabletop ideas that are sure to give any table a new lease on life and style.
1. Crate and cork tabletop
Okay, so this particular project idea is actually more like making yourself a completely new coffee table than just a tabletop, but it technically takes care of your problem too! I just liked it so much that I couldn’t resist including it on the list. Check out how Vintage Chic made this table from recycled wooden crates!
2. Graphic vinyl tabletop
Does your current decor have a mod, geometric feel to it, with lots of straight lines and solid colours? Then this triangular design is a great tabletop option for you! You might switch up the colours and change some angles, but the essential idea is worth recreating. Check out how Deco Crush did it using vinyl.
3. Live edge wooden tabletop
Perhaps it was actually your dining room table that gave you stress when you looked around your decor, rather than the coffee table? In that case, you have even more options to choose from! Are you ready for a more hands-on project that’ll put your wood working skills to good use? Then you’ll love this bucket centred table with a rustically jagged live edge. See how it’s done on Hunted Interior.
4. Coloured tape striped tabletop
Are you looking for a bright, cheerful tabletop solution that can be started and finished in a single afternoon? As long as you’re willing to put in the effort to keep your lines very even and straight, this is the perfect idea for you! Use long strips of washi tape in alternating bright colours to make an eye-catching striping pattern across the whole surface of a table or desk, just like Homedit did here.
5. Simple reclaimed wood tabletop
Do you like the idea of a beautiful wooden tabletop but you’re not sure you’re quite skilled enough at woodworking yet to create things like a live edge or a drink bucket in the centre? Here’s a great alternative that still looks rustic and carefully handmade! Check out how Stylizimo created this tabletop out of reclaimed wooden slabs.
6. Palette coffee table
Perhaps the top of your coffee table is beyond saving but the legs are still okay? Consider reusing the legs (perhaps with a new paint job) and replacing the top with a section of wooden palette! At least the markings on the palette will look rustic and intentional, rather than just reminiscent of the time your toddler stuck the prongs of their lunch fork into the wood. Check out how Her New Leaf made this one!
7. Factory cart table
Okay, I admit it; this suggestion is a whole table again rather than just a tabletop, but it’s just so cool and it still solves your problem! If your home decor has a very vintage and slightly industrial flair, this will fit into your scheme perfectly. The Blissful Bee shows you how to make it from start to finish.
8. Cable spool table
Do you pass by an antique store that you’ve seen giant old wooden cable spools outside of the last few weeks? That’s practically a new table with a good top on it in itself! We love the way Latte Love sanded and smoothed the top of this one and used the size as book storage for their favourite reads.
9. Pieced slat table
Remember the stylishly unfinished looking reclaimed wooden slat table from above? Well, here’s a gorgeously stained and shining version from Allie Shellaway! You might reuse the legs on a table you already own and then follow this tutorial for piecing together a tabletop that’s as good as new.
10. Reclaimed window coffee table
This adorably reclaimed looking table idea is another great way to reuse existing table legs, this time from one of your side tables! Oh Glory Vintage shows you how to upcycle an old window casing by putting a wooden backing on it to make the bottom and attaching the legs. Store magazines, family photo albums, or drink coasters inside and place a cute lamp on the top.
11. Paint stencil tabletop
Perhaps the tabletop you already have is in decent condition in terms of its texture but it’s been stained with drink rings all across? Stenciling is an awesome way to save how it looks in a relatively easy way! Check out how Cutting Edge Stencils painted this gorgeously intricate looking paisley pattern all across the top, hiding any inconsistencies in the wood.
12. China plate mosaic table
Do you love the beauty of mosaic art so much that you’d be willing to dedicate an entire statement piece in your home to it? Perhaps you live near a thrift store that always has a huge selection of china, but much of it is slightly damaged? That sounds like the perfect opportunity to carefully break some pieces up and use them as mosaic material across the surface of your damaged tabletop, just like Toftiaxa did here!
13. Glowing wooden table
Have you ever heard of photoluminescent powder? I hadn’t either, but then I saw this tabletop from Instructables and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. You can make this table by getting slabs of cypress wood with well placed holes, filling them with the powder, and sealing the top surface with resin. When the powder absorbs light, the table will start to glow in an eerie, beautiful way.
Do you know someone who has a table that’s in rough shape and could use a transformation? Share this post with them for a little bit of DIY tabletop inspiration!
