George Nakashima Inspired
When I first sketched this out, I wanted something that felt solid without being heavy-handed. The proportions, 42 inches long, 20 inches wide, and 16 inches tall, were dictated by the size of the slab I had sitting in the shop. A coffee table at that height keeps things low and grounded, which is exactly the feeling I was going for, more of a cozy sitting area. The style is heavily inspired by the Japanese style and George Nakashima.
The base is where most of the stylizing happened. I went with a trestle-style structure, two vertical leg pairs angled slightly inward and tied together by a center stretcher. It’s a form that’s been around a long time, but to keep it from feeling too traditional, I added a compound curve to the tressel. The legs aren’t delicate; they’re chunky and upright, which gives the table a sense of confidence.
The best thing about custom furniture is that you can do what you want. So I made the stretcher lock into the legs with a bridle joint. I wanted those joints to be visible and readable. You can see how the thing holds itself together. That kind of honesty in construction is important to me.
Then there’s the top. I’m using a walnut slab with a natural live edge, and there’s a crack running through it that I’ve decided to work with rather than hide. I’ll be cutting bowties by hand across the crack (some call them butterfly keys) inlayed to stabilize the crack and add visual interest. Walnut takes that detail really well. The dark grain, the irregular edge, and then those hand-cut bowties sitting across the crack will give the top a lot of character. Each bowtie will be slightly different because they’re cut by hand, and I think that’s the whole point.
The base and top are doing two different things, but they belong together. The base is structured and geometric. The top is organic and a little unpredictable. That tension is what makes the piece interesting to me.
This Coffee Table has been built in our Colorado Furniture Design Studio.
You can watch this live-edge slab coffee table being built.
Coffee & End Tables
