How to Build a Glass Recessed Coffee Table

Coffee tables with glass recessed into the tabletop add a sophisticated edge to the living room and give a clean, minimalistic vibe. Making your own coffee table with recessed glass on top is a little trickier than making a solid wood coffee table, but not so difficult as to make it unachievable. Ensure you purchase glass that is suitably strong for use as a tabletop. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Coffee Table Apron Frame and Corner Legs

1

Glue two planks of 24-inch and two planks of 30-inch 1-by-2 lumber in a rectangle, with the ends of the 30-inch planks abutting the inside of the 24-inch planks, making the corners of the rectangle. This is the apron frame of the coffee table.

2

Miter one 16-inch edge of 8 planks of 16-inch 1-by-4 lumber to a 45-degree angle on a miter saw.

3

Apply glue to all the mitered edges of the 8 planks, then mate the mitered edges in pairs, so you have four legs that are shaped like 90-degree corners. These go around the corners of the apron frame.

4

Set the legs into corner clamps while the glue dries.

Attaching the Legs

5

Remove the legs from the corner clamps once dry and fit each one around the outside of each corner of the apron frame.

6

Drill two pilot holes, sized to fit the shanks of 1 3/4-inch wood screws, through each side of the corner legs, into the apron frame. There will be four pilot holes per corner leg.

7

Secure the legs in position with 1 3/4-inch wood screws driven through the pilot holes into the apron frame.

Making the Recessed Tabletop

8

Cut a 1/4-inch deep and 1/2-inch wide recess along one edge of two planks of 30-inch 1-by-4 lumber, and two planks of 38 inch 1-by-4 lumber. Use a router or a rabbet plane to cut the recess, or rabbet edge into the lumber.

9

Miter the ends of all four pieces of lumber to 45-degree angles with a miter saw.

10

Apply glue to the mitered lumber, then form the lumber into a rectangle, with the mitered ends mating to form the corners. All the rabbet edges should be on the inside edges of the rectangle. Set into corner clamps while the glue dries.

Attaching the Apron Frame and Legs and Finishing

11

Turn the tabletop rectangle with the recessed edge facing the work surface. Center the apron frame on top of the tabletop rectangle. The apron frame should be flush with the edges of the inside edge of the tabletop rectangle.

12

Secure the apron frame and legs to the underside of the tabletop rectangle with 2 3/4-inch wood screws driven every 4 to 5 inches around the apron frame, into the tabletop rectangle.

13

Finish the table in the wood finish of your choice and let dry before carefully lowering a sheet of 23-by-31-inch, 1/4-inch-thick glass onto the recessed edge of the tabletop rectangle. The glass will sit flush with the level of the tabletop rectangle, which forms an attractive frame around the recessed glass.