All I Need To Do Is Learn To Drink Coffee

 

For some reason, I have never liked drinking coffee so perhaps that is the reason why I never understood while short tables in rooms are referred to as coffee tables. For me, they have always been a place to rest my weary feet while reading a good book, perhaps sit a bowl of salsa and a bag of chips on or perhaps keep my journal handy so I can update it when I tire of reading. Miscellaneous task table seems like a more apt description though I do admit it doesn't roll off the tongue as easily.

Above is a project I did four years ago and was my inspiration. I bought plans for these tables from an online YouTube content creator who does wood working. They now reside in our living room on either side of our easy chairs with their nested companions underneath and pulled out and spread out around the room when having a party. The circles line up and the bars appear to be three when nested together. So I took that for inspiration when I designed the coffee table by adding three vertical bars and one circle. I also continued to use the walnut and red oak combination of materials because I kind of like the contrast. 

Above is a picture of our current kit coffee table which has served our needs for 20 years and three moves. If you can look closely, there is a piece missing from the bottom right leg area and I think the trim piece in back is completely loose and just held in place by the weight of the pressed together particle board construction. At our urban apartment, it served as the only table other than a small dinette table so my wife used it a lot when studying for tests or relaxing her feet after a long day of residency. From there, it moved down to our previous house and then to this house where it sits in front of our fireplace downstairs. 

Finally, here is the new coffee table in place minus the spent flowers and ready for use come winter when we spend a lot more time in this room, mostly on weekends where we read and nap the days away in front of a toasty fire. The old unit will go out at the curb where once a week, our small city has a bulky item pickup if I call and give them our address. I wish it was in good enough shape I could give it away but with it being propped together as it is, I'm not sure it will make the journey to the curb as it is. I hope by building a piece of furniture that should outlive my grandchildren, I can make up for the sin of throwing the previous unit in the landfill.