Drinks and Snacks Sofa/Bed Tray

Here’s the perfect quarantine diy project that you can make at home, with your scrap wood leftovers.

So you want to sit relaxed on the couch, watch netflix or your favorite movie and have a drink or a snack. You find the perfect relax position, and then you are thristy or hungry. You have to constantly bend over the table to get your drink and that’s not great. Yeah, you could hold your drink in your hand but this inevitably makes it hot, and you know, beer is way better when it’s cold.

So here come the perfect solution, a snacks and drinks tray!!

Prepare your drinks and your snacks in the kitchen, bring the tray to your sofa with the incorporated handle, that also act as a perfect storage for your remote, sit back and relax and … ENJOY your movie!! 😊

Material I used :

• 1 pine plank 8.5'' x 13'' for the top
• 1 plywood strip 2.5'' x 48 for the sides
• 1 mdf (1/4 thick) 8.5'' x 13'' for the bottom
• 8 Washer head screws ( 1-1/8 )
• 6 Taper head screw (#5x5/8)
• Wood Stain ( Rubio Monocoat Charcoal )
• Spray Paint ( Rust Oleum Midnight Blue )

I make this project with scrap wood leftovers that i have in my workshop. I used a pine plank for the top and plywood for the sides. You can choose the wood type of your choice, this is what i had. Also, the the bottom, i'm using a 1/4 (6mm) MDF plank that i will screw.

So I start by cutting all my planks to the right size. All of this project is made with leftover that I have in my woodshop. The top is pine wood ( 8.5 x 13 inches ) [216mm x 330mm].

For the sides, I start by cutting my two 3.5' 'x 24'' plywood strips to 2.5'' [50.8mm] wide. Once it's done, I then cut the 4 pieces that will make the box sides. Theses for pieces have a 45 degree angle at each ends so you won't see the end grain when the box is assembled. I cut 2 pieces at 13 inches long and the 2 others at 8.5 inches.

Finally, I cut the ¼ [6mm] inch MDF plant that will make the bottom to the right size. I will make a ¼ groove into the bottom of the plywood sides so the MDF will fit perfectly and won’t be visible, so the bottom MDF will be 8''x12.5'' [203.2mm x 317,5mm]

Now , I pass all four plywood pieces on my router. Like I said in step2, I groove a notch of 1/4'' in the bottom of the plywood pieces to fit the MDF ( see video ).

Time to assemble the box. Im using painting tape to joint all four plywood pieces together, then I add some wood glue and to bond all pieces together. It's quick, simple and you don't need to use clamps.

Alright, our box is assembled. Now, i'm making 8 pocket holes with my kreg jig mini.

I'm using 8 screws to connect the top part to the box. You could also use glue, it’s your choice at this point but reason i used pocket screw it's because it will be easier to spray paint the box and oil stain the top separately.

We are ready to cut the holes for the top part. But before, we need to trace where we are going to make the opening for the snacks containers. The easier way I found is to put green tape on the top, then I trace around the containers onto a piece of cardboard to make sure the container will fit the openings once I cut into the wood.

The fit is ok, so I trace onto the green tape. That way, when i cut the openings with the jigsaw, the tape will prevent the wood to blowout, this will make a cleaner job.

Once these 2 openings are made, I drill the 2 holes where we are going to put the drinks. Im using a 3'' [76mm] holesaw for these as it will make a clean round hole. Most drinks will fit this opening ( beer, aluminium can, water bottle etc ).

And the last holes we need to drill, is the one that will make the handle ( aka remote storage once you sit on the couch ). Im using a forstner bit to drill 2 holes, then i use my jigsaw to to connect the 2 holes and create a single larger hole.

Using my router, I round the edges of all the openings and the 4 sides of the top of my tray.

Time to stain the top. I’m using Rubio monocoat Oil Plus2C leftover can that I bought for my dinning room table. Choose the stain you want, but reason I use rubio is because it’s a one coat finish , it’s super easy to apply and it will reppel any water.

For the sides of my box, i use some midnight blue spray paint that i had in my paintbooth.

Again, choose the finish and the color you want :)

I cut the MDF plank for the bottom at the right size, then using #4x5/8 screws, I secure this plank to the bottom of my sofa tray.

Yes, we are done!

Now , put for favorite snacks, favorite drinks, sit back and relax and enjoy your movie!

Have a good night! :)