Living Room Set

Red oak and walnut coffee table and two end tables.

Our living room was pretty sparse and in need of some furniture for setting things on. I first made the coffee table which was my biggest project at the time. It features all mortise and tenon joinery for the legs and frame, a butterfly joint to keep the bottom walnut piece stable, and breadboard ends joined by a tenon and sliding pins. The breadboard ends were really a test of skill, and after one minor mistake, I was able to complete them. (blog post on coffee table)

I made the end tables later and really love how they turned out. I matched the wood so all three would feel like a set. The drawers have hand cut dovetails that came out really nicely and the bottom cross pieces connect to the legs with one of my favorite joints: a half lap dovetail. (blog post on end tables)

Not a great background for this picture, but I do like the angle. Here you can easily see the butterfly joint and how beautifully it turned out. Also in that far leg, can you see the big black hole? I filled this imperfection with epoxy so you can sort of look down into it if the light is right. Hooray for imperfections!

I had a much more formal photo shoot with the end tables, so I have better pictures of them. Here you can see them side by side.

Nothing like black walnut, eh?

Some handcut dovetails on the drawers. I've been getting better and better at them, and these turned out pretty much perfect.