This past week, our old coffee table underwent an extreme makeover. Actually, it got a facelift. Pictured below is the IKEA $30 or so coffee table that we've had since we moved in 6 years ago. Recently, it's scratched veneer has had it looking like a 6-year-old-$30-coffee-table, and it had thus been stored in the garage, leaving our living room clear for the impromptu family dance party. I'd been missing a place to set a book and prop my feet, though, and found this idea for an upgrade on Pinterest. (Don't worry, dance parties will continue. We'll just have to dance around the furniture and maybe keep the cartwheels and break dancing moves to a minimum.)

We had a bunch of scrap 2x4s from our goat shed project last month, so I decided to use them to create a new top for the beat-up table.

We didn't have enough long pieces to cover the table top, so I decided how I wanted to piece the boards together. Then, I cut them to length.

Yep. I cut them to length. . . . using this. All on my own. John wasn't even home. Can you tell I'm a bit proud of myself?

I then stained them using Mission Oak, a color that I thought would go well with the veneer finish of the table and still lend a rustic feel to the knotty pine boards.

Once the stain was dry, I used wood glue to adhere the boards in place and stacked heavy books atop the table to hold them down as the glue dried.

24 hours later, we removed the books and moved our table back into place. (Girl 2 really wanted to be in the picture.)

Here it is, all done, with the lower shelf back in place, holding our floor pillows.

(As you can see, I haven't quite decided what I want to sit on it. ;)

It's not a professional job, by any means, but I do think it's an upgrade. And, all it cost me was the $10 or so that I spent on the stain and wood glue.