DIY Round High Top Table

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you a penny more)!

When we started planning our game room over a year ago, our initial idea was to build a built-in corner booth. As the design kept evolving and we started to make adjustments, we decided that corner booth would be too bulky, so we needed to come up with a new solution.

We found a beautiful bistro table from West Elm…and then we looked at the price tag. There was no way we could justify spending $580 on a table, so we started looking around for table bases so that we could build our own.

Alright, let’s start DIYing!

Tools

• Drill
• Kreg Jig
• Electric Sander
• Jigsaw
• String and Pencil (or scrap board and pencil)

How to Make a Round Bar Height Table

New to DIY? Download our free 5 Steps to Getting Start with DIY guide!

Step 1: Cut your wood

Cut your 1x10x12 pine board into (4) 3ft boards. Note, they won’t be exactly 3ft because the saw blade will cut off some of the wood, but they don’t need to be exact.

Step 2: Pick your favorites

Pick your favorite sides of the 3ft boards and arrange them to your liking. Flip your boards over and mark where you want to put pocket holes. Remember not to get too close to the edges because some of the boards will be cut off when we make the circle.

step 3: assemble

Drill pocket holes using your Kreg jig.

Pocket holes are the foundation of most DIY furniture. Become a pocket hole pro in less than an hour in Pocket Holes: Explained.

Glue and screw your boards together one at a time. Add clamps on either side to keep the seams as level as possible.

Step 4: make your compass

You can either cut a spare board down to size and screw it to the table loose enough to rotate around your piece of wood, or you can create one with a string and pencil. Screw your compass to the middle of the table and draw your table outline. If you are using a string and pencil, make sure to keep the pencil straight up and down when you draw your line around. Holding the pencil at different angles will change the size of the table. Our table ended up measuring 35″ across, so our string was 17.5″

Step 5:cut

Cut your table into a circle using your jigsaw. 

Step 6: make support boards

Cut your two support boards using the 1×2 pine board. Cut them both to approximately 25″, cutting each side at a 45-degree angle. This should be long enough to span all 4 boards, but won’t go out to the end of the table. Sand the edges of your support boards to round them.

Drill 4 pilot holes on each of your support boards so that you can countersink your screws.

Step 7: sand

Sand your table using 60 grit first. If you want smooth rounded edges, hit the edges at multiple angles with the 60-grit sandpaper to round them off. Then continue sanding with 120 and 220 grit sandpaper.

Step 8: Install supports

Sand your table using 60 grit first. If you want smooth rounded edges, hit the edges at multiple angles with the 60-grit sandpaper to round them off. Then continue sanding with 120 and 220 grit sandpaper.

Step 9: stain and seal

Stain the top of your table. If you like the checkerboard pattern, you can see how exactly we made the pattern here.

Seal your table top according to the instructions on your Urethane. We chose the Minwax Spar Urethane in Gloss because it is very water-resistant. We didn’t want to worry if someone ever spilled their drink on the table.

Step 10: attach the top

Attach the base of your table using screws.

Now it’s time to enjoy your table! What did you build your table for? A kitchen? A game room? Tell us in the comments below!

And as always, we would LOVE to see your photos. Send us a picture of your table on Instagram and feel free to reach out with any questions!