DIY Mid Century Modern Side Table

Get the stylish and functional mid-century look for less with our step-by-step tutorial on building an easy DIY Mid Century Modern Side Table from scratch.

DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

We weren’t really wasn’t messing around when we told you that we were currently obsessed with all things mid century modern.

But the style can be pricey so instead, we decided to build mid century furniture ourselves.

If someone doesn’t stop to intervene soon, we might start making pet furniture with tapered wooden legs and watch the Brady Bunch before bed every night while sipping tea out of a Starburst cup.

We’ve already made some mid century planters and a DIY daybed.

And our latest project is this easy DIY Mid Century Side Table that has a storage feature to house your little but important things like your TV remote controls and chargers.

DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

Step 1 -DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

Materials and Tools Needed to Make a DIY Mid Century Side Table

Round wood circle — You can buy pre-cut circles at the hardware store or cut your own from scrap wood or any wood board of your choice. Ours has a 18″ diameter.

Round cake pan — We used a pan measuring 16″x 2″. You can use a deeper or wider pan for a larger end table. Just be sure it’s heavy so that the end table isn’t wobbly from being too light!

Tapered round legs — Ours are 16″ tall.

Angled leg mounting plates

Drill and 11/64″ drill bit

#10-24×3/8 inch round head screws with nuts and bolts

Wood stain — We used American Walnut brown.

Foam brush

Spray paint — Optional in any color of your choice. Our cake pan/storage base was painted Shrimp Pastel Pink, and the table legs were painted gold.

DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

How to Make a DIY Mid Century Side Table

1 — Using a foam brush, stain the wood round circle top and table legs. 

2 — Once the stain is dry on the legs, tape off the wood to spray paint the feet gold. This is optional. But if you are wanting to achieve the mid century look, gold tones are very prominent in this decor era.

Step 2 - DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

3 — While the legs are drying, place the cake pan upside down. Lay the angle plates where you want the legs to be positioned and mark with a pen.

We made the mistake of putting the legs too close together originally. (Hence, the extra screw holes!) This mistake made the end table seem unsteady. So be sure that the legs are far enough towards the edge of the table. This way, it isn’t rickety and unstable when it’s built.

Use the drill and 11/64″ drill bit to make holes for each of the four corners on every plate.

Step 3 -DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

4 — Attach the plates to the pan with the nut and bolts in all corners.

It is more ideal to use bolts instead of screws so that there are no sharp edges when the storage pan is being used.

Step 5 - DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

5 — Once the plates are attached, spray paint the entire pan and plates the color of your choice. Allow to dry completely.

6 — Once dry, screw the tapered legs into the plates, and flip the cake pan upside down. The top of the end table will just rest on the storage.

Step 6 - DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

Project Notes

Choosing your round wood circle:

Your round wood circle can be any size. Even though ours has an 18″ diameter, you can customize yours to have a larger or smaller table top. Just make sure that it is as least 2″ larger in diameter than your cake pan.

Choosing your cake pan sizing:

Our cake pan is 2″ tall which is just big enough to store our TV remotes, magazines, or notebooks and pens. Your cake pan can be any size in depth and width. Keep in mind that the cake pan needs to be 2″ smaller in diameter than your wood circle.

This is such an unconventional material, right?!? We creatively turned cake pans into DIY hanging planters too.

Where to place your table legs:

Be sure to adjust the placement or the table legs to be far enough apart so that they hold the weight of the top evenly.

Make sure to use round head screws:

It’s important to use round head screws or even flat bolts with the accompanying nuts so that there are no sharp edges in the storage pan.

  DIY Mid Century End Table | By top Houston Lifestyle Blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth #midcentury #modern #sidetable #homedecor #livingroom #diy #diydecor

More Easy Modern Furniture DIY Projects

This is definitely a simple project for a last minute weekend DIY on a rainy day. And it’s so budget friendly that you could even make one for each side of your couch.

We even love the idea of painting them different colors for a punch of color in a space!

If you love our DIY mid century round side table, then check out a few of our diy mid century modern furniture ideas below —

photo of a modern diy mid century side table by top Houston lifestyle blogger Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth

 

DIY mid century end table | sugar & cloth

DIY Mid Century Modern Side Table

Print
5 from 14 votes
A colorful and budget friendly DIY Mid Century Modern Side Table that's easy to make, inexpensive and the perfect addition to your home.
Prep Time30 minutes
Dry Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course DIY
Category Coffee Table

Equipment

  • Drill and 11/64″ drill bit
  • Foam brush

Materials

  • 1 round wood circle
  • 1 cake pan
  • 3 wooden tapered round leg
  • 3 angled leg mounting plate
  • 12 #10-24×3/8 inch round head screws with nuts
  • Wood stain
  • Spray paint optional for the cake pan/storage base color
  • Gold spray paint optional for the feet of the legs 

Instructions

  • Prep the wooden top and legs by staining the unfinished wood the color of your choice with wood stain and a foam brush.
  • Optional: Once the stain is dry on the legs, tape off the wood to spray paint the feet gold.
  • While that’s drying, place the cake pan upside down. Lay the angle plates where you want the legs to be positioned and mark with a pen.
    Be sure they’re far enough towards the edges of the table so that it isn’t rickety and unstable when it’s built.
    Use the drill and 11/64″ drill bit to drill holes for each of the four corners on every plate.
  • Attach the plates to the pan with the nut and bolts in all corners.
    The reason for the flat bolts instead of screws is so that there are no sharp edges when the storage pan is being used.
  • Once the plates are attached, spray paint the entire pan and plates the color of your choice. And let dry completely.
  • Once it’s dry, screw the tapered legs into the the plates, and flip it upside down. The top of the end table will just rest on the storage.
Cost: $110
KEYWORD: diy mid century modern side table

DIY Tables

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108 thoughts on “DIY Mid Century Modern Side Table”

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  47. Hey girl! Thank you a lot for your idea! Based on that, I made similar one, with a pizza board, a cake pan (painted yellow) and drumsticks. It turned out great and now I’m very proud of it!

    Reply
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  49. Hi there! Where did you find your 16″ cake pan? I canT find one at kroger, walmart, pr target and was wondering whEre yoU found yours.

    Reply
  50. This is awesome! How tall is the entire side table? Just trying to plan my own version of this and want to get the height right for my couch. Thanks!

    Reply
  51. Thank you for this wonderful tutorial. I’m always looking for things to build but only have a power drill. I love how resourceful and creative you are with your beautiful creations!

    Reply
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  60. I know this post is over a year old, but I’m really curious how you measured where each top plate would go? How did you space them evenly on the bottom of the pan?

    Reply
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  63. Where did you find the rounded hardwood top? Besides buying a circular cutting board, I’m not sure where I might find this. Thanks! New homeowner and decorating with mid-century modern furniture. This is the exact side table I’ve been looking for!!

    Reply
  64. One idea for keeping the top on. Trace the edge of the cake pan on the bottom of the wooden top and carve out a small indent just on the inside of the tracing so the pan rests inside the lip.

    Reply
  65. Florence Henderson participated in NPR’s Wait, Wait! Don’t Tell Me this past weekend. Brady Bunch is in the ether. Great table! Can’t wait to try it out.5 stars

    Reply
  66. Love this DIY, will certainly be trying it out. That pink/peach color is EXACTLY what I’m looking for to redo an amazing, yet terribly shiny, metal mcm chair! Could you share the brand/color?!

    Reply
  67. Shut the front door! You made that with a cake pan? Pure genius, and a place to stash the remotes is always a bonus. Love this project!5 stars

    Reply
  68. Did you think about having a dowel or something for the top to spin on (but be attached to the bottom)? I love the idea but can only imagine my dog running in to it and having the top go flying.

    Reply
    • That would be awesome! I don’t know that I’m that handy yet, but I’ll keep it in mind for future projects, thank you for your feedback! :)

      Reply
  69. I adore this! If only you had more time (ha ha, right?) to make these so anyone who fails at DIY could buy them!! I may give it a try this weekend though. xo5 stars

    Reply

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