Easy DIY McGee & Co. Coffee Table Dupe

What’s better than a $3775 McGee & Co coffee table??? One that you build yourself for pennies compared to that price!! When I saw this Edita coffee table by McGee & Co, I was determined to make it my next build. Let me just say, building it was easy! Forking over close to 4k–no way!

Continuing with my pergola makeover, I built this coffee table to complete my set of outdoor furniture that I shared here last week. Of course, this table can be used indoors or out. It will definitely find a new home in my family room, when the cold weather sets in. Way too beautiful to leave out in the elements for no one to see. But for now, I am loving how it complements our pergola space….

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So, let’s get to the build. I know you’re going to love it!!

DIY MCGEE & CO COFFEE TABLE DUPE

(Instructions are based on the following dimensions: 18″ tall; 25″ wide; 45″ long. If building a different size, be sure to adjust measurements accordingly).

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Materials Needed:

4-2x4x8 pine boards

2-1x5x8 pine boards

1-4x8x3/4″ sheet of plywood (good quality)

Kreg Jig Screws 2 1/2″

Wood Glue

GRK Wood Screws 2 1/2″(any brand wood screw will work; just sharing my favorite here)

Wood Filler

Paint or stain

Outdoor Poly (This is a great poly for both indoors and outdoors)

Tools Needed:

Miter saw

Drill

Kreg Jig

Table saw (OPTIONAL) (If you don’t have a table saw, you can cut your plywood with a circular saw or a jigsaw)

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NOTE: If you’ve never used a Kreg Jig, here’s a great tutorial. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend buying one. You will use it all the time in the DIY realm! And it makes builds so much easier!

Step One: Build the tabletop frame

Cut two 2×4’s at 20 1/2″

Cut two 2×4’s at 43 1/2″

Drill 1 1/2″ pocket holes into each end of the 20 1/2″ boards.

Attach 20 1/2″ boards to 43 1/2″ boards using 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws. (NOTE: Be sure to check that your boards are square-at a 90 degree angle-with each step. I like to use these. If your boards are not square, you will have a wobbly table). And now you should have a frame that looks like this….

Now you’re ready to add your supports.

Cut three 2×4’s at 20 1/2″.

Drill 1 1/2″ pocket holes into each end of these boards.

Attach to your frame, using 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws. Once again, be sure to check for square with each board you attach (See picture below for recommended placement of each board)….

Cut two 2×4’s at 20 1/2″. (These will be the Leg Support Boards)

Drill 1 1/2″ pocket holes into each end of these boards.

Attach these boards to your frame, using 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws. Once again, be sure to check for square with each board you attach (See picture below for further instruction)….

Step Two: Build the legs

Cut two 2×4’s at 20 1/2″.

Cut four 2×4’s at 14″.

Drill 1 1/2″ pocket holes into one end of each board.

Using 2 1/2″ p.h. screws, attach to 20 1/2″ 2×4’s. You now have legs that should look like this….

Attach the legs to the Leg Support Boards, using 2 1/2″ screws. (Note: As you can see in the picture below, the legs get attached to the under side of the Leg Support Boards….

To add some chunkiness to my boards, I wrapped them with plywood. To do this, I simply cut plywood strips to fit on each side of each leg. I attached them with 1 1/2″ screws….

Step Three: Attach tabletop

Cut plywood to fit for tabletop. It should cover all of the 2×4’s. Attach using 1 1/2″ screws…..

Cut 1×5’s to fit around tabletop. Screw them into 2×4’s using 1 1/2″ screws….

And here’s the step where I messed up. I thought I was finished at this point, so I wrapped the legs with 1×5’s to cover up the rough edges of the plywood….

And then I added my stain and poly and proudly gave my new coffee table a home under my pergola….

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It stayed like this for weeks, before I realized I forgot something! Do you see what it is?

I forgot to add the plywood to the legs to make this coffee table the unique table that it is!! So, back to my garage to add the plywood. However, I had to add extra boards to have something to screw my plywood into and it became a more complicated project than it should have been. So, I won’t tell you all of those steps, because they’re not necessary. Thankfully! I’m going to jump right to the correct way of adding the plywood. But unfortunately, I don’t have pictures for this step, since I didn’t do it this way. 🙁

Simply cut a piece of plywood to fit the span of each side of legs….

You’ll now want to cover up the rough edges of your plywood. To do this, cut 1×5’s to fit on each end of your new wide leg bases….

Now you’re ready for the finish work. Fill your nail holes with wood filler and then, when dry, lightly sand those spots. Stain or paint and add 3-4 coats of poly.

Although it took some time to get the final look I was going with for my table, I finally got there. That’s DIY for you. A lot of trial and error. But with perseverance, you will succeed and have a beautiful furniture piece to show for it!!