Pottery Barn Inspired Outdoor Buffet

Summer is on its way and most of you are going to be spending much more time outside, if you’re not already. J and I have always loved to be outside and Charlie is no exception. We joke that he would live outside if we’d let him! One thing we have always loved to do it to cook/grill outside. It’s certainly one of my favorite things about summer! In preparation for summer get togethers I started to come up with a plan for our outdoor patio. This prep table is a Pottery Barn inspired outdoor buffet that I saw at Pottery Barn that had a whopping $1600 price tag!

Luckily, we had all the tools to make it ourselves. After two weeks of planning, building and a broken toe . . . story for another time, here it is!

We kept our dimensions the same as PB’s, but decided not to add the wheels. You can easily add wheels to your buffet. They can be purchased at most home improvement store.

Here’s what you need to make your own:

We cut our 4×4’s down to 3×3 using our table saw. We wanted our buffet to be lightweight and more along the lines of the Pottery Barn buffet. You can certainly use 4×4’s if you choose.

1.) Cut each 3×3 to 33″ if you plan on adding wheels, 36″ if you do not. Cut 2 – 2×4’s to 43″ each.

2.) Set your Kreg Jig to the 1 1/2 setting. Make two pocket holes on each end of your 2×4’s.

Let me just say how much I love my Kreg jig! I have had it for almost a year now and it’s completely changed how I go about building things. It has made the assembling of my projects so much easier! I highly recommend one to anyone who enjoys woodworking or just the occasional DIY project. You can find my favorite jig here.

I used the Kreg 90 degree angle clamps to hold the legs and sides together while I screwed in the 2″ pocket hole screws. If you don’t have these clamps, get them! They make a world of a difference. They’re great quality and worth every penny.

I set the 2×4 in the middle of the 3×3.

3.) Now you’ve got your first side done! Measure and cut the side 2×4’s to 14″ in length.

4.) Measure and cut a 2×4 at 14″ long for the center for extra support using 2″ pocket hole screws.

5.) Make your pocket holes on each end of your 1×4’s for the bottom shelf. Set your jig to the 3/4″ setting.

6.) Attach the 1×4’s to the legs 5″ from the bottom. The Kreg clamp works great for this step as well!

7.) I added a 1×2 to the inner sides of the 1×4 on the bottom to nail the 1×3’s into. Using your nail gun and wood glue, attach the 1×2 to the 1×4’s on both sides.

Make sure to nail the 1×2’s the thickness of a 1×3 from the top. You want the 1×3’s to seat flush with the top of the 1×4’s.

I added just a small 1×2 on the short sides of the table to hold up the two end pieces.

8.) Cut a 1×3 to go across the bottom to give extra support to the slats. Follow Kreg Jig’s instructions for setting your jig to the correct setting. Make two pocket holes on each end of the 1×3 and attach to each end of the buffet.

Measure and cut each slat to the correct length. I used my jigsaw to cut the slats around the 3×3’s.

9.) Use your nail gun to nail each slat in place. We made our space between each slat roughly 3/4″. The spacing is up to you!

10.) Once you’ve cut each 1×6″s to 51″, make all your pocket holes. Be sure to stagger them.

11.) Add wood glue and screw them together one by one with 1 1/2″ pocket hole screws. I used clamps to hold my boards in place while I screwed them together.

12.) You can screw the top down by drilling screws in from the top of the table or you can make pocket holes in the 2×4’s and screw 2″ pocket hole screws in from the bottom, which is what I did.

I made 2-4 pocket holes on each side of the buffet.

13.) Make sure to sand your buffet down well and wipe clean before you paint or stain it.

I stained the top with Varathane’s American Walnut.

I sealed the top with an indoor/outdoor polyurethane by Helmsman. It can be purchased at Home Depot.

I painted the bottom of the buffet with an off-white exterior paint that I had on hand.

I bought some hooks from Target and screwed them in place on the front.
I also installed a bottle opener that I found at World Market.
You can find the same bottle opener here –
Wall Mounted Bottle Opener

You can find the same hooks I used at the link before with free shipping!

There ya have it!

I love mine more and more each day. It’s such a versatile table. I see many days and nights of entertaining in its future!

In June I’m happy to announce we’ll be hosting a Kreg Jig giveaway!

Be sure to subscribe to The Tale of an Ugly House. You don’t want to miss that giveaway!

This project was sponsored by:

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This giveaway is now closed!

You may also want to check out this PB inspired project –

DIY Clubhouse Bed