Easy How to Build a Media Console Table Tutorial

Tools Needed for DIY Console Table:

(Amazon Affiliate Links Included)

• Table saw Or Circular saw
• Miter saw
• Drill
• Level
• Kreg Jig
• Jigsaw
• Orbital Sander
• Speed Square
• Nail Gun (Optional)
• Staple Gun

Step One: Cut sides and dividers

The first step is to cut your outside panels and dividers.

Cut four 3/4″ plywood to 15 3/4″ x 23 5/8″, using your table saw (or a circular saw).

Drill 3/4″ pocket holes along edge of both (15 3/4″) ends. Do this to all four panel pieces.

Step Two: Cut top piece and bottom piece

Now you’re ready to cut the top and bottom boards. These are the boards that will serve as the top of the cabinet and bottom of the cabinet.

Cut two 3/4″ plywood to 15 3/4″ x 68″, using your table saw (or a circular saw).

Step Three: Attach the side panels

In this step, you’ll attach the side panels to the bottom piece. Since both of these pieces are the same dimensions, for simplicity sake, I will still call them top and bottom.

Attach one of the 15 3/4″ x 23 5/8″ side panels to the bottom 15 3/4″ x 68″ plywood sheet. The side panel should be flush with the end of the bottom board. You’ll attach this side panel, using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

Repeat this step with the second side panel. Attaching it to the opposite end of the bottom board. Your media console table should now look like this….

Step Four: Attach the supports

Now let’s add the supports (also called dividers).

To find the placement of these two boards, I simply take 66.5 and divide it by three. 66.5 divided by 3 equals 22.17.

To make things simple, I chose to round that number down to 22″. Measuring from one of my side panels, I measure out to 22″ and mark this spot. I like to measure along the front and back of my bottom board. This gives me two markings, as to where to place my support board.

I then do the same from the opposite side panel. Measure out to 22″ and mark the spot. (Once again, measure from the front and the back). I now have the two spots marked where I want my support boards to go.

Now I’m ready to attach my support boards. Lining up the board on my two markings (remember the front and back markings you did above?), I then attach the first support to the bottom board, using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

Repeat this step for the second divider. And now your modern media cabinet should look like this…

Here’s another view…

Step Five: Attach the top board

To attach the top board, takes a little bit of muscle power. Two people for this step will work too.

Place the top plywood sheet, already cut (15 3/4″ x 68″) on two sawhorses. Then place the media console carcass on top of this top board. Attach using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws. Make sure all 4 boards (2 supports and 2 side panels) are square. To check this use a speed square. Your media center should now look like this. (Minus the back panel)….

Step Six: Attach the back panel

For this step, we’re going to move onto your 1/4″ plywood sheet.

Cut 1/4″ plywood sheet to fit the back of the media console carcass. Attach with nail gun, using 1 1/4″ nails. If you don’t have a nail gun, no problem. You can attach the back panel with a hammer and nails. The nail gun, however, does make this step easier and faster.

NOW your media console table should look like the picture above.

Step Seven: Cut shelves for Media Console Table Tutorial

Now you’re ready to cut the center shelves.

Cut two 3/4″ plywood sheets to 15 3/4″ x 21″, using your table saw (or a circular saw).

Drill 3/4″ pocket holes along edge of both (15 3/4″) ends. Do this for both boards.

For the right and left shelf, cut two 3/4″ plywood sheets to 15 3/4″ x 21 3/4″, using your table saw (or a circular saw).

Drill 3/4″ pocket holes along edge of both (15 3/4″) ends. Once again, do this for both boards.

You should have a total of 4 shelves cut after this step. Now, you’re ready to attach these shelves…

Step Eight: Attach shelves

Now for my big blog fail moment. Ta-Da! I am human! Haha!! No A.I. writing this post. 🙂 Somehow, I completely forgot to take pictures of the process for attaching the center shelves.

So, I’m going to compromise by showing you how I attached the right and left shelves first. And then, I’ll explain how to attach the center shelves. It’s all very simple. So, let’s go.

The shelf on the right and the shelf on the left of the diy tv console, will be inside a cabinet. In other words, a cabinet door will be in front of each shelf.

To find the placement of each shelf, I simply measured the distance from the bottom of the cabinet opening to the top. I then divided that number by two. That is where I placed my shelf.

For example: Each cabinet has an opening of 23 1/2 inches from top to bottom. Divide 23.5 by 2 and you get 11 3/4. To make this step very easy and not have to work against gravity, I cut scrap wood to be my guides. To do this, I cut two scrap boards at 11 3/4 inches. I then placed these two guides inside my cabinet (as shown below)…

Now I am ready to attach the shelf, using these two guides to hold up my shelf. This makes it much easier to attach the shelf. I attached the shelf using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

Note: the cabinet shelves are inset 3/4″ from the front of the carcass. This allows for the cabinet door to sit inside the frame. Therefore, when attaching your cabinet shelves, make sure the back of the shelf is flush with the back panel. 

I then repeated these steps for my other cabinet shelf. You should now have one cabinet shelf on each side of your media console.

Follow these same steps to attach the center open shelves. To find the placement, simply measure the full distance from top to bottom and divide by three. Cut two scrap pieces at this measurement for your guide and start at the bottom to place your first shelf, using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws. Once the bottom shelf is attached, place your guides on the bottom shelf and attach your second shelf. You should now have 3 shelves within the center section…

At this point, you are ready to turn your media console table upright. As you have been working on it, it’s been upside down. You may wonder, why does it matter, won’t it look the same after I rotate it? But, by rotating it, we hide all of the pocket holes. When we rotate it, they are now all on the bottom and no longer visible.

The pocket holes we see on the outside panels won’t matter. They’ll no longer be visible, once we add the cabinet doors.

Step Nine: Cut cabinet door panels

Moving right along, we’re ready to cut the doors.

Cut two 3/4″ plywood sheets to 23 1/4″ x 21 7/8″, using your table saw (or a circular saw).

Draw your best elongated half circle. Drawing circles is not easy. As shown in my elongated half circle below. In the end, I was able to smooth out my circle with my sander. But if I would have started with a good circle, it would have made things a lot easier. I found this video afterwards and feel like it is the easiest way to draw a circle. I’ll definitely use this technique in the future. Check out the video here.

NOTE: Make sure you leave enough space for your hinges to attach. As you can see in the picture below, I failed to leave enough space for my hinges and had to re-cut my cabinet doors. 

You’ll use a jigsaw to cut out your elongated circle. Because the circle is inset from the outside of the board, you’ll need pilot holes to get your jigsaw in place. To do this, simply drill two large holes (using a thick drill bit) INSIDE your circle. As shown below…

Place your jigsaw blade into the pilot hole and work your way over to the circle line that you have drawn. As shown below…

Use your jigsaw to carefully, and as precisely as possible, cut out the circle….

Repeat this for your other cabinet door.

In order to really smooth out your circle, you can use an orbital sander. Work the sander all the way around, until you get your circle to the shape you want it.

As you can see below, my circles are not perfect, by any means! So, don’t worry if yours aren’t either. Once you add the caning, it’s really hard to notice any imperfections in the shape of the circles…

Step Ten: Add hardware for Media Console Table Tutorial

At this stage, you are ready to add the door hardware to your cabinet doors.

Please note: you will need FRAMELESS hinges for your cabinet doors. This is because these cabinets do not have a face frame. Therefore, the only hinges that will work are frameless.

These are the ones I used from Amazon. With these hinges, you will need to bore cup holes for your hinges to sit inside. I have a full tutorial on how I did this in this post. It’s actually very easy to do. These hinges are also soft-close, which is so nice!!

Step Eleven: Finish work for Media Console Table Tutorial

Using an orbital sander, sand your entire media console.

Once you’ve finished sanding, and you have a smooth surface, you’re ready for edge banding. I like to use edge banding on all of my plywood building projects. This edge banding covers up that rough plywood edge. Follow the instructions given on the packaging. Again, very easy to do! As you can see in the picture below, edge banding has been added. The ugly plywood raw edges are gone. Much better!

And now you’re ready to add your own style to it. You’re ready for paint. I painted my console table Black Magic by Benjamin Moore. I then applied a couple coats of water based polyurethane.

Once painted and poly’d, I was ready to bring it down into my theater room, where I then added the feet. Here are the feet I used! I love their gold finish!! Especially against the black! Perfect!

And the simple cabinet door knobs I added–SO GOOD!!

Step Twelve: Add the caning for Media Console Table Tutorial

And finally, we are to the step that makes this media console table tutorial stand out. The caning! This simple added touch transforms this table from not just a functional piece of furniture but to a statement piece! It is truly the icing on the cake.

Here is the caning I bought off of Amazon….

Here are the steps I took to apply my caning:

First, I eyeballed how much caning I would need for each cabinet door….

Next, I soaked my caning for about 15 minutes.

Once dry, I attached the caning to my cabinet door using my staple gun….

One down…One to go…

And, oh my gosh! I’m in love!!

If the caning is not your style, another option would be to add glass doors. Simply replace the caning with glass to fit, for this simple change. It’s really all about personal style preference.

After building this beautiful media console, I couldn’t wait to complete my vision of this space. Adding these bookshelves, was the finishing touch to this entertainment area.

 WANT THE BUILDING PLANS FOR THE BOOKSHELVES?? HERE THEY ARE!! 

Add the decor…and isn’t she stunning??!

Are you ready to add sophistication and charm to your home with this stunning and functional media console table? This Scandinavian-style sideboard, will add a touch of minimalist elegance to your family room, dining room, bedroom. And the list goes on…

Let’s go beyond the design to build something beautiful together!

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