Livestock Water Trough Turned Coffee Table

Junk Love Boutique
by Junk Love Boutique
We all want furniture that is unique to our style and taste; and when living on a farm, what better way to incorporate "farmstyle living" then by turning an old water trough into a functional storage piece that is pretty and practical.
To start out we drilled 4 holes in the bottom of the trough so we could attach the feet, which would give us a little added height.
Here you can see an example of that, although I slacked big time on taking pictures at the beginning of this process so this is not the actal trough.
Once you have the holes drilled you can easily slip the screw end of the feet through and bolt them tight. These can be purchased at Lowe's.
Once the feet were attached, my woodworker made a top that sat flush with the edges of the trough with a little overhang in the front so you can easily lift the lid.
He then cut pieces to fit the curves of the trough so we could attach the hinges.
Once that was done, the trough was pretty top heavy when the lid was open so we cut another piece to fit in the bottom for added weight and support. All the wood accents are stained in Minwax Provincial.


I then drilled two holes on each side for rope handles.
After the stain had dried, I sealed the entire piece with polyurethane.
To finish off the farmhouse look and add a little charm, I drilled two holes on each side of the trough for rope handles.
After doing this piece for a client, I'm thinking I'm going to be building another one for myself. There is simply nothing better then pretty and practical!
Frequently asked questions
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  • Sydney Sydney on Jul 30, 2018

    whay size trough did you use?

  • Ted Mueller Ted Mueller on Feb 19, 2019

    This is really cool! I was wondering how the wood for the hinges was cut? That seems like the hardest part.

  • Den43191703 Den43191703 on Jun 29, 2019

    Where do you purchase the trough? What brand is it?

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