15 Doable Designs for a DIY Patio Table

The playful tile treatment atop this DIY patio table turns the humble garden accent into a bespoke treasure. The lightweight frame of the table comes together with pine boards held up by four sections of 2×4 lumber. As for the tile tabletop, it can be recreated with individual tile and grout—or with a few sheets of bargain wall tile, for a hassle-free alternative.

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Repurposed pallet wood comes pre-aged and distressed, which makes it an interesting choice for this outdoor table, where it blends seamlessly with surrounding trees and foliage. The hourglass-shaped legs, made of scrap wood 2x4s provide support and stability to the generous pallet board tabletop, while lending the structure a bit of style. 

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Fans of the classic farm table will find lots to love in this outdoor dining table made from reclaimed wood. Though it’s the perfect complement to a a yard with a whitewashed wood fence, its weathered white patina would make it look at home in almost any outdoor space. To get the look, start by assembling the frame from wood posts, then finish up by creating a tabletop of beautifully weathered wooden boards. The crossbeam at the base of the table provides a sturdy support to rest your feet while dining or kicking back with friends.

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This country chic patio setup is hiding a big secret. Underneath the golden-hued wood surface and the bold patterned patio umbrella is an ordinary and outdated tabletop. The ingenious pair behind the patio table hack created a new tabletop of fence wood that could be slid over the existing furniture. They finished the wood with honey-colored wood stain and wax, then bored a hole in the middle of the table to make room for the umbrella pole.

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What better way to pass the time on a lazy summer day than to play a game of outdoor checkers? This wooden table, featuring two built-in checkerboards, is up to the task. The checkerboards are removable and reversible, so when you tire of playing, simply collect your game pieces, made of spray-painted washers, and then pop the boards out of the table. Flip the boards over and fit them back into the table to transition a gaming table into an outdoor dining table.

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This outdoor coffee table gets its generous dimensions from the two ottomans which serve as its base. After removing the cushions from the matching metal ottomans, the DIYer replaced them with a tabletop made of ten-foot lumber boards and eight-foot furring strips. The result? A spacious
coffee
table that stands at the ideal height for serving drinks or kicking up your feet.

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This metal coffee table went from forgotten thrift-store find to a functional focal point after the glass tabletop was swapped for a wooden surface reinforced with x-bracing underneath. While plain to the eye to start, the natural wood top got a punch of color from a single coat of whimsical blue stain. When paired with the rust-colored frame, the tabletop looks perfectly at home against the reddish-blue tile floor.

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Don’t have a Kreg Jig in your tool shed? No problem! This outdoor coffee table is fashioned entirely from 2x4s, so you can skip the complex cuts and expensive tools. In fact, you can assemble both the frame and top of the table with only a saw and a drill on hand, then finish off the table with brown decking stain for a polished appearance. The three-quarters-of-an-inch space between each 2×4 in the tabletop saves wood while providing a little visual interest.

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This small but mighty patio table can seat four while saving space in a pint-sized yard. The slim construction is thanks to array of slender 1×3 and 2×3 boards, which each do their part to give shape and add height to the table. But it’s the classic finishing touches, as much the careful construction, that help this table stand out from its surroundings. A coat of stark white paint contrasted with a colorful spray of flowers give the piece instant appeal.

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When you build this double-duty table, you gain not one, but two patio essentials. By day, the round tabletop offers room to serve up your favorite summer cocktails, salads, and more. But lift up and haul away the tabletop at night, and you’re left with a fire pit fit for grilling up burgers or roasting s’mores. If you already have a fire pit, constructing the tabletop is as simple as screwing together pressure-treated wooden boards, cutting the assembly down to the size and shape of the fire pit with a jigsaw, then placing the tabletop on top of the pit until you’re ready to fire it up.

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Why splurge on a store-bought martini table, when you can nab the same striking cinched silhouette for a bargain using items already sitting in your garden shed? This slinky black martini table comprises a stack of two clay planters glued together, topped with the saucer of one planter, then painted black. When recreating the mod-art accent for your own patio, be sure to place the right-side up planter on top of the upturned planter to create more surface space on the tabletop to balance drinks and snacks.

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Thanks to a built-in ice bucket, this two-tiered end table is as useful for serving seasonal food favorites as it is for stashing chilled drinks. Although the ice bucket is nothing more than an inexpensive plastic planter box, the dark stained cedar wooden frame and legs of the table that surround it give it a high-end look. Don’t do much entertaining in the yard? Fill the planter box with soil and plants to put your green thumb on display in a surprising new way.

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What this outdoor coffee table lacks in stature, it makes up for with its sprawling surface space and storage-smart frame. Start with a stack of two pallets, then adhere cedar wood planks to the top for a professional polish. The combination of the tabletop with the ivory-painted frame makes for a rustic yet modern look.

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Whether you need to rest a drink or rest your back, you can do it in style with this convertible garden
accent. Thanks to a hidden hinge in the middle of the wooden construction, you can swing the piece up to form a spacious bench for curling up with your favorite summertime reads. When guests come over, lay the back of the bench flat for a surface on which to display a spread of summer eats.

Related: 12 Doable Designs for a DIY Bench

This split herringbone tabletop is just the thing your outdated metal patio table needs to keep up with the times. If the two columns of slanted wooden boards that comprise the herringbone pattern look daunting to recreate, get your wooden boards cut at the hardware store to hasten the assembly and relieve the need for complex cuts or tools. When the tabletop looks shipshape, top it with a coat of dark wood stain for a lustrous and luxurious finish.

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Are you inspired? You don’t have to stop with a DIY patio table. There are lots of easy DIY plans for outdoor furniture, as well.