I used a combo of a couple of Ana White's sofa table plans and I changed them so that two tables would fit together at the angle of my sectional couch. I used pennies on the top and covered in epoxy resin.
Estimated Cost
50$, (including, 25$ of resin, 25$ wood)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I couldn't find a stain that I liked so I used some old wall paint watered down and wiped off like stain. Then, I topped with three coats of a shiny clear coat. I really like the shiny finish of the pennies. This paint is Sherwin Williams Stunning Shade. I painted the top of the table in the same paint and then I glued the pennies down with regular Elmer's glue. I cut the pennies around the edges with bolt cutters so they filled the entire area. After the pennies were in place I covered them with a pour on epoxy resin. I used Super Glaze that I got at Home Depot. The Super Glaze was about 25$ and I only used about a third of it. I didn't included the price of the pennies in the cost. I used about 15$ worth of pennies. Most of the time making this project was in gluing the pennies to the table and cutting them to size. The actual woodworking of the project could be finished in a weekend, but this was my first project so it took me longer. (If you use pennies to top a project, I highly suggest getting pennies that are already the shine that you are looking for. I foolishly tried to was 20$ dollars worth of pennies and ended up with bowls of rusty pennies all over my house.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner