Pottery Barn Inspired Truss End Tables

March 27, 2012 By

Hey guys!  I’m still working on my game room upstairs and after I built the PB Inspired Benchwright Coffee Table, I was on a mission to find the perfect end tables.  I turned to our friend, Ana, for ideas and she did it again!

She introduced me to the Pottery Barn Sawyer End Table ~ Retail: $399

With Ana’s help, I built my own version for $16.50 each….$33 for the set!  NOT EVEN KIDDING:)

Here she is:)

These tables were EASY, EASY, EASY!  Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by all of the angle cuts.  I have NEVER cut an angle beyond the standard corner miter so I was a little intimidated at first but….I believe you learn through experience so I dove in and was surprised at how easy it was.  It took me about 30 minutes to assemble each table!

Here’s a few pics of my building process:)  You can see the plans HERE!

It’s crazy to think that something so fun could come from boring boards!

 Legs

Yep…almost done!

Table top!  I could not have built this table without my Kreg Jig!  It made the tables so sturdy!!

and we’re done:)….well almost

I like how rounded the table top boards were on the PB version so I gave them a good sanding all around with my Ryobi battery-powered sander (LOVE this thing!)

1 coat of Rust-Oleum Dark Walnut Stain and they were ready to settle into their spots in our game room:)

 I just LOVE how well they play off of the Benchwright Coffee Table :)   They would also make great bed side tables!

2 tables for $33 compared to 1 for $399!  Score!  Now here’s the cool part… If you do not own a compound miter saw, you can always use a hand saw and a miter box to build these tables (will be cheaper at the moment but more time consuming).  A good compound miter will run you about $399 right now and that is the cost of one of these Pottery Barn tables!  It will pay for itself with this project alone!  So, if you have been debating whether or not to make the purchsase, now is the perfect time! We LOVE ours and they are so easy to work with:)

Some tips I learned along the way:

~A bevel cut is made with the top adjustment of the compound saw.

~An angle cut is made with the bottom adjustments of the compound saw.

~Not parallel means that both angles at the ends of the board will not be parallel.

~Parallel means that both angles at the ends of the boards will be parallel.

Thanks so much to Ana for the AWESOME plans!  Now I’m off to finally find some panels for my window:))

If you love the tables I would LOVE pins!  Thanks for stopping by!

~Ashley

19 Comments Filed Under: Furniture, Knock-Offs
  • http://www.redhenhome.blogspot.com Korrie@RedHenHome

    I wish you were my neighbor. I would want to be your best friend ;-) These are beautiful!

  • http://rinnisplayground.blogspot.com Rinni

    Holy snikees! Those tables are awesome! Great job! I’m so jealous of your DIY skills! I dream of power tools and compound miter saws, uh, yeah totally normal. ;) One day, one day I shall have them all! Then put hubby to work building things in my sweat shop! Course, I’ll be sweating to.

  • Kellie

    The tables are terrific! Many thanks for sharing :)

  • http://denverdietrich.wordpress.com Erin

    You are so inspiring – I can’t wait to get some wood and smell the sawdust and BUILD something beautiful for my home!

  • http://thehomespunjournal.com brookeO

    Super cute!

  • spiceylg

    Wow, you have been super busy with all of your builds! You got skills, girl! Beautiful job once gain!

  • http://kellysplainpath.blogspot.com Kelly W

    Wow!! Seriously that cheap?? I need new end tables and you have my gears turning. Amazing!!

  • Pingback: Trestle Side Tables

  • Ryan

    Wow, great job. Looks just as good as the original. Congrats.

  • http://fosteringacreativelife.com Heidi @ Fostering a creative life

    OMG- these rock! I pinned them so I could come back to this when I’m ready for some fun, cheap and totally awesome DIY end tables. Thanks for posting :)

  • Sharla Kennedy

    These tables are beautiful!!! You did an AMAZING job! Thank you for the tutorial!! You have totally inspired me to try this! Wish me luck!!

  • http://creationsfromboncloddyst.blogspot.com Natasha

    These turned out fabulous! I think they would look great in my living room. Once I find the courage to try wood working these will be first on my list! Great job!

  • Mary

    Doin’it!! thanks for the instructions. Already have a problem though, as this is my first build….. For the 4 boards @ 27″ you say parallel, long point to short point. So in otherwords, I don’t flip the board so the angles are the same looking at the length from the side, correct? Also, since it is cutting at an angle, do you measure 27″ from the longer side once you’ve made the cut? Or do you just measure 27″ from the beginning before you’ve made any cut at all. Thanks for answering a beginner’s question! Tried to post this on Ana’s site but saw no submit option!

  • Charity

    Thank you and Ana for this plan – I decided to give it a go and I LOVE the way these tables turned out :)

  • Deja-Gal

    Well done! I’ve been wanting one of those Kreg jigs, now I’ve GOT to get one! Thanks again for posting!

    • http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/ Shanty2Chic

      Go for it! Best investment EVER!! You will love it!

  • Sarah Willey

    When the instructions say to cut off square, what does this mean?

    • http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/ Shanty2Chic

      It just means to cut the end flat… No angle:).

  • Lauren Brooke

    My boyfriend and I just bought our first home and while it is being built we ( or I… haha) decided that we should build our own furniture :) I have been following you ladies on Pinterest for quite some time and LOVE everything you post/make. So for a little encouragement I bought the master toolboxx Kreg Jig set for Cameron on his birthday and we went to Home Depot, bit the bullet and spent the money on a nice Rigid tool set because we figured it would be cheaper to do it this way in the long run! I just have to say THANK YOU both for your blogs and Ana Whites plans for how to build this and many other things. We built this table first to start out with and cut the wood for the other one; I am SO in love already.