Richard Felt: DIY Sofa Arm Table

Hi, it’s Amy from Hertoolbelt back with another build plan. Are you Ready For Some FOOTBALL??? It’s that time of year again! I’ve got the perfect project for the ‘arm chair quarterback’ in your home, a Sofa Arm Table. The Sofa Arm Table easily slips onto the arm of your sofa/couch and gives you a flat surface to place your drink and game time snacks, with a little pocket for the remote.

How to Build a DIY Sofa Arm Table

Measure Sofa

Measure the width of the arm on your couch or sofa.

Also determine how far down you want the sofa arm table to go and how deep you want the table. For this sofa, the arm width was 9 1/4″ (so the top piece is 10 3/4″), I wanted it do go down about 8″ and be 14″ deep.

Material List

3/4″ x wide enough for your top piece x 8′ board
1 1/4″ pocket hole screws/regular screws
wood glue
sand paper
stain/top coat

Cut List – customize according to your sofa

3/4″ x 10 3/4″ x 14″ pine board
3/4″ x 8″ x 14″ pine board
3/4″ x 7 1/4″ x 14″ pine board
3/4″ x 3″ x 14″ pine board
3/4″ x 3″ x 14″ pine board

Cut all of the pieces out for the sofa arm table. On an inside edge of the 8″ and 7 1/4″ pieces, drill pocket holes to attach to the top piece.

Consider sanding all of your wood pieces before assembly.

Use wood glue and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws and attach the 8″ and 7 1/4″ boards to the top board.

Pre-drill countersink holes in one of the 3″ boards. Use wood glue and 1 1/4″ minimum screws to attach the remote storage feature.
View of assembled table. Underside

Let the glue dry and remove excess glue.

Sand the sofa arm table until it is smooth, finishing with 120-150 grit sandpaper. Stain or paint the table as desired. I applied a coat of pre-stain wood conditioner, then applied a coat of General Finishes Java gel stain. After the stain dried, I applied a coat of polyurethane.