Originally Posted by Poto

Some friends commissioned me to make them a coffee table. They just bought a lovely new house, and really need something in front of the sofa. I asked them about the furniture they already had - did they want me to follow any particular style? They decided they wanted something "sort of traditional but contemporary, but not too contemporary". Or something along those lines.

I showed them a bunch of pictures of tables that I downloaded from the web. Turned out the biggest issue was the leg shape: the wife wanted legs that had a face angling outward from the top to the bottom. The husband wanted legs that tapered downward on the inside face - Shaker style. They both agreed (when asked separately) that they hated the look of legs that tapered inward from the top to the bottom on the outside face of the leg.

So they argued for a while, and then sent me a picture of a table that they liked the leg shape on: its legs tapered inward from the top to the bottom - on the outside face of the leg. The ones they both agreed they didn't like!

Hmmm...

The only table they'd shown me was something from Pottery Barn that I couldn't reproduce for the cost of buying it from Pottery Barn. But they did want a shelf of some sort beneath the table top to put magazines on.

Hmmm....

So I finally decided to let inspiration do its thing. I took the husband (who does not do woodworking at all) to some lumber yards to look at wood. After a lot of flipping and admiring of lumber, he decided that he loved curly maple. We bought a nice slab of 8/4 curly maple that I got resawed (thanks Eiji, who put me in touch with the company that did it) so I could do a bookmatched top. The slabs weren't quite wide enough, so I put a plank of figured cherry down the middle.

I had sketched out a table top with a gentle curve along the long edges - like my diningroom table (which they liked). I (don't tell them) didn't really like their choice of legs, so I decided that I would put a bit more of myself in the table. After all - I'm supposed to be the designer, right? (I know - I'd never stay in business if this were my job...)

I experimented quite a bit on Sketchup, and finally came up with a design I liked. I call it my "secret" table because when you look at it from the top, it's quite unassuming:





You can see that the table looks pretty much like the Sketchup model at the top of each picture. It just looks like a nice table top sitting on four legs.

The top came out nicely too:


I sanded to 2000 grit. Every time I went to a higher grit, more of the figure became visible. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

The secret is revealed once you sit down, and look at the table from the side:


The table top doesn't actually sit on the legs - it sits on the aprons, which arch up and away from the legs.


The underside of the apron and the stretcher are both arched as well, giving it a lightness and grace (I hope). I haven't finished the shelf lattice, as you can see. In the photos the table top is just resting on the leg frames, which are held together with scraps of wood and tape.

I really like how the table top floats over the table frame. I used the shape of the leg that they both agreed that they liked, but formed it into a more unique shape with the apron and stretchers. The fun thing is that you don't notice it until you look from the right angle.

I'm thinking I might do some side tables for them out of the leftover maple...

I'll post updates once I've made progress on the shelf lattice...

Originally Posted by FredWest

Peter,

Without question I believe that you have achieved the the lightness and grace you were looking for. A really inspired design. I will be very interested in seeing the side tables. Will they too float?

You are really becoming a wonderful woodworker and I would be honored to have anything you built in my house. On the flip side, however, I am going to wait until you can match the expertise of my ex-father-in-law's entertainment center.

Fred

Originally Posted by MichaelKellough

I like the way the grain in the top reminds me of a gravely river. Ripples along the shallow sides and a torrent through the deeper middle.

Originally Posted by Poto

Thank you, Fred, for your very generous and thoughtful compliments! I have to say that it is my fondest hope that I never - NEVER - become the woodworker your former father-in-law was! I think I would have to lose both arms, both legs, all my teeth and perhaps my lower jaw before I could achieve his level of craftsmanship. And achieving his level of design would require a brain injury.

Originally Posted by Poto

I have to say that it is my fondest hope that I never - NEVER - become the woodworker your former father-in-law was! I think I would have to lose both arms, both legs, all my teeth and perhaps my lower jaw before I could achieve his level of craftsmanship. And achieving his level of design would require a brain injury.