DIY Tabletop TV Stand

When we moved into our home I didn’t really want to put a TV in our Master bedroom, but since I was pregnant and the rest of the house had projects going on, I needed a retreat. The way we set up our bedroom there was only one logical place for the TV…that and it’s where the cable was…on top of our dresser.

When I set the TV on the dresser it was way too crowded, with the cable box, Apple TV, and other items I needed a way to maximize the surface space. It was too high to mount the TV, and even if I did I needed a way to cover up the cable box.

I knew who to call, Mr Handyman himself, my dad. I remember him telling me he just built a table top TV stand for a cousin of mine, so I called him and said “Can you whip me up one?”

I gave him the measurements of how long/tall I wanted it, how deep it had to be to fit the TV, and how wide one section needed to be to fit the cable box.

Voila, the next time he treked the 5 hours to visit, he brought my shelf. I stained it and it’s perfect.

The thing is, it’s apparently really easy to make! Or you could buy one for around $60. If I had the tools I could have done it myself..but I assume that my Dad loves to make me things so I let him…

This is how he did it.

Figure out how high/deep/long you need it to be. If it’s over 28-30 inches I  suggest you put a support piece in the middle so the wood doesn’t sag with the weight of the TV.

You will either need 1 or two boards for the top depending on how deep it is.

We used pine boards.

Cut the 2 sides, back piece and the top boards to length or have the store cut them for you.

For the back piece use a 1 1/2″ spade bit to drill a hole in the middle or side wherever you would like the cords to go through.

Line up the sides and back piece. Using the nailer, attach them to make the “frame” for the top.

Once they are secure, connect the top pieces using the nailer or screwdriver to the frame.

If you have a center piece secure that last.

Paint or stain. That’s it!

This is one that is in our master bedroom. It’s smaller so it did not need a middle piece.

And this is one that is on our family room for now. The TV was bigger and we had more boxes so the middle piece was necessary to keep the support. We did have to off center the middle piece though to fit our boxes.

I painted it to match the the dresser we made into our TV stand for now until we tackle this room with new floors and built ins. But this works great for now and everything fits on the surface.

Easy right? Why pay $60 when you could make one for just a few?