Extraordinary Custom Coffee Tables from Ordinary Forms

Where will you find inspiration for your next custom furniture project?

Exotic or traditional designs can be appropriated for new purposes.  Some inventive pieces have been necessitated by unique and unusual spaces.  The beauty and history of reclaimed wood and other materials can spark an artistic and ethical impulse to create something special.

And in the hands of CustomMade artisans, even the familiar forms of everyday objects are grist for the creative mill.

For your consideration, here are custom coffee tables inspired by mundane items old and new.  Perfect as centerpieces or ensemble pieces, each project is a testament to the versatility of the humble coffee table and the ingenuity your local custom furniture makers can bring to your home furnishings.

“Beautiful in modern, historic, urban, or traditional environments,” the table cart by David Tunkel Custom Furniture combines a repurposed turn-of-the-century cart base with quartersawn oak and full dovetail joinery in a “timeless classic” that’s both functional and amazing.  Do you like the union of handmade custom wood coffee tables and mobile platforms? Ask Mr. Tunkel to design one in this vein for your home.

Table Cart by David Tunkel Custom Furniture at CustomMade.com

Another design that unites two seemingly disparate items into a quirky but seamless whole, the “Match Box” coffee table by Wheeler’s Studio makes its inspiration manifest.  Like a matchbox, its drawer can slide open from either end.  The unique metal legs also evoke the striking surfaces on the sides of the little carrying cases.  This solid wood piece is shown here in hickory, but you can custom request your own in walnut, maple, white oak, or cherry and with weathered painted surfaces.

"Match Box" Coffee Table by Wheeler's Studio at CustomMade.com

Perhaps you’re holding your design inspiration in your hands while you contemplate turning it into a furniture piece.  Take heart and take a look at this tole tray that became a coffee table by Howell Design Services.  The stand was hand shaped from solid sapele to fit the shape of a customer’s antique tole tray, which was also restored in the process.  The apron edge was matched to the edge of the tray, the stretchers were mortised to the legs and lap jointed where they cross under the table, and the turned bamboo legs were hand flared at their feet.  In addition to custom antique restoration, the artisan John Howell can create furniture forms “missing from antiquity,” such as custom coffee tables, custom entertainment centers, and computer-friendly desks, in an antique style and can also “make genuine antiques more usable” with custom built accessories.  If you have a large antique tray or other surface that might be more useful and presentable in coffee table form, contact the artisan.

Tole Tray Becomes Coffee Table by Howell Design Services at CustomMade.com

Functional and beautiful handmade custom wood coffee tables can assume a virtually limitless variety of forms.  Take a look around your home, your attic, or maybe even your pocket for some ordinary pieces that can inspire extraordinary possibilities and then find a CustomMade artisan near you who can turn your idea into a reality.