DIY Herringbone Laundry Room Table Project

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Laundry tables are the perfect flat surface when you want to have a folding station in your laundry room! I built my own DIY laundry folding table on a minimal budget – and I’m sharing the full tutorial with you!

By far, our Herringbone laundry room table is one of my favorite things I have ever made! I always wanted a laundry room folding table so I could easily knock out multiple loads of laundry without having an aching back. After looking at various options online, I decided to just make my own DIY laundry table as part of my laundry room makeover! Here’s how I did it.

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Planning my Herringbone laundry room table

I first had to figure the width and depth of the table and settled on two feet wide x four feet long. I chose this size for a number of reasons. First, this size is plenty of room to fold laundry on. Second, it allowed enough room for laundry baskets to go underneath. Third, and most importantly, I can still open my dryer and the basement door with no interference!

I’m pretty tall and wanted a good height to save my back while folding laundry, therefore I went with 37 inches for the table height. The standard height of most laundry tables is 36 inches, which is why I added an extra inch (since I’m not the average person haha).

These were all key things I took into consideration when designing my table so that it would be exactly what I wanted – and above all – what we needed.

Assembling the table top

My next step was to cut a 2 feet x 4 feet piece of 3/8 plywood using the table saw. Using a piece of plywood for the base of your herringbone table top is important because it adds strength and durability. It also gives you a solid structure under the pallet boards to build with.

Once it was cut to the correct length, I started lining up pallet boards along the top but I ran into some difficulty keeping them square without being secured. Therefore, I decided to start nailing them even though they were not cut to size as of yet.

Each piece I nailed on using my new nailer that I had gotten for Christmas. I checked each one with a carpenter’s square before nailing them into place, just to make sure it was all lining up nicely. Once completed it looked like this.

I then nailed on a few smaller pieces to fill the gaps as you can see above. Next, I took the skill saw and cut all the edges flush with the sheet of plywood.

I added a skirting to the herringbone table top by using a few more pallet boards.

Time to make the laundry room table legs

Now it was time to flip it over so that I could start on the legs. Using 2×4’s I cut to length 4 pieces at 36 inches long, I attached them to my table top using screws.

I also cut two pieces to fit in between the legs at the top of the table and two more for the bottom. I attached the two bottom ones two inches above the the bottom of the 2×4 because this would be my bottom shelf. At this point I was at a stand still.

I realized I needed to rip a couple 2x4s into 2×2’s – not the easiest way to build a table, but I did it because I was being frugal – and that’s what I had on hand.

X marks the spot

Next I needed to come up with the angles for X’s. I had been dreaming of these beautiful X supports since I started the laundry table plan in my head.

I had to play with it a bit to get them perfectly lined up. The miter saw couldn’t get the right angle so I simply traced it on the 2×2 and cut with the circular saw.

The shorter pieces angles on the side were 45 degrees, which are pretty simple cuts on the miter saw. In this case the X’s were for decoration more than stability, so I just used the nailer to put them into place.

I added some 2×2’s at the Center mark of the X. I pre-drilled the wood so that it would not split, and used some extra long screws to hold them in place. These would be where my second shelf would go.

I should add I always try to remember to pre-drill when building for a couple of different reasons. First of all, it prevents splitting and cracking. Second of all, it makes it so much easier to screw together once its pre-drilled. Last, it helps make it look a bit more professional.

I also like to use our countersink drill bit because then I’m able to hide screw heads if I want to.

Repurposing to create rustic shelves

I had some scrap wood left over from a cubby cabinet I had ripped apart and we cut those to length width wise of the table to give it a planked look. Next I sanded them to get some of the paint off and create a rustic look. Then I put them aside.

Adding a few coats of fresh white paint

I gave the base of the table a quick sanding. Then I used two coats of flat white kitchen paint allowing a bit of the wood color to show through because I still wanted a farmhouse feel.

Completing the Herringbone laundry room table

Once it dried, it was time for the last step. I flipped it over and grabbed the trusty nailer attaching all my plank boards to the 2×2’s.  Honestly I was hesitant on how the shelves would look because it was yet another tone of rustic in this compact project. Absolutely no regrets with this decision!

I considered adding caster wheels to the bottom of the legs, but decided not to add those in for now.

Time to bring this rustic beauty inside

Once we brought our completed laundry table inside, I felt like the room was finally complete. Although I have to admit, there are still many more projects I want to make and add to this room.

The herringbone table top ties into the pallet wall so beautifully. I plan to add some pallet shutters to the wall behind it one of these days too. We get a lot of early morning sun on this window and as a result it can pretty heated in this room.

The white base gives our new table a nice crisp look while tying into the farmhouse feel of the white wood used in various elements of this room. I am 100% completely satisfied with our latest DIY project. I hope you love it too!

At this point in our renovation I’m pretty sure I could live in this laundry area for days. I may not ever catch up on all the dirty clothes on laundry day, but at least I can enjoy my little DIY table while I fold!

If you want to see all of the things we did with our laundry room makeover, click here!

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