Convertible Coffee Table Tutorial and Plans!

You know we love convertible furniture, given our history with building projects like this and this. And since we love entertaining, I thought it would be so nice to have a coffee table that converts into a full size table! It can be used for family game night, puzzles, or just plain eating. And we’re totally obsessed with it.

If you follow us on Instagram and have been watching our stories, you’ve seen the whole building process happen behind the scenes. And we’re so excited to share the final product with you!

*This post is sponsored by National Hardware. Thank you for supporting the fabulous brands that make Reality Daydream possible! This post contains affiliate links.*

Nick here…  when Beth challenged me to pull this off, I gracefully excepted, rolled up my sleeves and started designing. We were inspired by a couple different designs we found on Pinterest, but none of them had the look we wanted, nor did they have instructions to build your own. So we’re stepping in to fill a need. #yourewelcome

Let’s get into it.

The premise of this table relies solely on the ability for the sides and legs to maneuver in such a way that it can be transformed from a coffee table to a full size table (that seats 6) and back again! And we couldn’t do this without the use of high-quality piano hinges from National Hardware!

Download these amazing plans here.

Ok, now that you printed those building plans off, let’s break down some sheet stock! Cut the pieces for the table top and sides, because we are going to laminate the sheets together. We cut two of each and cut them larger than the final dimension.

While the table top and sides are clamped, we got to work on the template to cut the legs.  We laid the pattern out, but for your benefit you can download the pattern HERE, print it out and trace it onto the 1/2″ MDF.  We cut it out on the band saw and drilled the holes with the drill press.

Using the template, we traced the pattern onto the plywood, cut it close to the lines with a jigsaw.  Then screwing the template to the inside of the leg, we cleaned it up the leg blank with the pattern bit.  After glueing and clamping the leg blanks together,  we chamfered the edges with a chamfering router bit.

After removing the table top and sides from the clamps, we cut them to size and cut the 60 deg taper on the edges.

After laying out the legs, we drilled holes for the cross dowels and joint connection bolts, using a drill press and a plunge router / 1/4″ straight router bit, then using the template as a guide, 1 3/4″ forstner bit and 1 1/4″ forstner bit we drill the holes for the dowels.

We test assembled the legs and continuous hinges making sure everything fits and making adjustments as needed.  We really enjoy these National Hardware hinges, and have used them on multiple projects. We have never had them bind, and they have always come with quality screws.

Lastly, we measured the width of the legs and cut the dowels so they would extend beyond the edges of the legs 3/16″.

After sanding and painting, the family gathered to assemble the table.

Pro-tip: a little bar soap works wonders when press fitting the dowels and legs.

Here she blows!

This convertible table will come in so handy at the new house. You’ll have to excuse the barfy beige walls that we haven’t gotten a chance to paint yet.

And here she is fully extended!

My favorite part is that it’s SO PERFECT for family game night!

Using hinges on furniture builds is such a fun way to make them convertible and transform into other useful things! Our heads are spinning with more ideas to use this concept!

Thanks for pinning!