I got the idea for this from a picture of a coffee table in the gallery of recent student work at the Krenov School. The student, whose name was not cited, called the piece "Bubbly Lake" table. You can find pix of the original there.

What I liked about the design is: the anthropomorphic curve of the legs, that look to me like hips and thighs; the way the aprons/rails/skirts follow the curve of the legs; and the inset top that is let slightly proud into notches in the tops of the legs, leaving a nice shadow line on an otherwise smooth piece. I really like the way the end grain notches in the legs bracket the top graphically when seen from above.

The original has what I guess to be a veneered ply top so seasonal movement would not spring the joints. I chose to use two solid wood leaves, and left a center gap to accommodate seasonal movement. I put three brass pins spanning the gap between the leaves to keep them registered.

The bench is 33" x 16.5" x 21" tall, a bit narrower and less deep than the student's piece but just as tall. I used walnut because I already had some boards thick enough in that to cut out the legs and rails. My intended use is as a luggage bench in our guest room. I think it would also work as a sitting bench in a foyer. I think the same design would look nice made taller as a sofa table or hall table, or made square as a plant stand. Mortise and tenon construction. The finish is Arm-R-Seal satin.


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